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THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION

I^^J'I'-L^S i££N MICRfiFJLMEO

A STUDY OF MOB ACTION IN THE SOUTH

John R, Steelman

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University
of North Carolina in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy in the Department of
Sociology

Chapel Hill, N. C,
1928

^■..

CONTENTS
Chapter

X. The Ivlan and the Mob

Page

I. Introduction 2

II. Early History of I'ob Violence In the

United States yy

III. Border Lynchlno: and Anti-Slavery

Agitation *. 2q

IV. i;ob Violence and Reconstruction 54

V. Lynchlngs: A Statistical Analysis 94

VI . "/omen and ".rhite L:en L:>mched 13P

VII. L'Tichings by States and by Coimties:

The i:inor Lynching States' 161

VIII. Lynchlngs by States and by Counties:

The I.:ajor Lynching States 210

IX. Case Studies of I..ob Action in the South . 282

384

Bibliography 423

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Two points should be emphasized at the outset In

this study of mob violence in the South --- the Importance of

the general subject throughout the nation and special reasons

why such a study relating particularly to the South should be

made. Regarding the first, it must be said that the United

States is, and has ever been, characteristically a lav/less

nation. In all crimes of violence America is said to lead

the v/orld. As Judge Tally of the covirt of General Sessions

in New York, on inducting into office a nev/ jxirist, said:

One of the things that you v/ill come to learn is
that you have come on the bench of the greatest
criminal court in the world ... at a time when this
country is suffering under an indictment which
proclaims it to be the most lawless on earth.
You will find that the United States must plead
guilty to that indie tment.l

There are no less than ten thousand miirders annually

in this country. Our homicide rate is about twelve times that

of England. In 1923 there were 200 homicides in England and

Tl Quoted in the New ^ork Herald Tribune. See Literary
Digest Vol. 82, Serit. "13, 1924. p. 32,

Wales combined, v/hlle In the United States there were more
than 10,000, Statistics show that no other country meastir-
ably approaches the United States in the jnurderous tendency
of its people. If similar comparative figxires v/ere available
as to crimes of burglary and robbery, it is thought that our
excess over other nations in the matter of murders would fade
into comparative insignificance. In 1921 there was 95
robberies in England and Wales combined v/hile in New York,
during the following year, there were l,445j and in Chicago,
2,417, These are not our worst cities. Criminal statistics
from several southern cities, as well as other facts which
we shall note later, ' Indicate that at least in certain re-
spects the South is the most lawless section of the country.

There are other reasons 7/hy a study of mob violence
relating particularly to the South is not Inopportune at this
time. At present the South is more largely in the center of
attention than any other section of the country. Like the
West in days gone by it is that section of our country to
which the eyes of many are turned, and where things are "going
on" - where development of practically every type is taking
place at hitherto unknovm strides. Today the South is recog-
nized even beyond the country's borders as the new "Land of
Opportunity", It has been referred to as "the last great un-
developed section of the North Temperate Zone, its one place
left for pioneering on a vast scale, "^

2« Acierica Discovers Dixie, by Clarence Poe, in Anerlcan Re^
view of Revle\7S, April, 1926. pp. 371ff,

To describe the economic development of this
section during the Twentieth Century would be to reiterate
a story told over and over again during the past decade.
That this progress has been no less than phenomenal is recog-
nized in all sections of the country. The story of the edu-
cational progress of the South since 1900 is v/lthout parallel
in the nation, even though much remains yet to be done.

Unfortunately the otherwise bright picture of the
South is marred by a form of lawlessness which, as it de-
serves, brings criticism from not only other sections of the
country, but from across the sea as v/ell, Nov/ mob violence -
even lynching - is a national and not a sectional crime, but
it is characteristically Southern and is becoming more so,
While other sections of our country have little occasion for
sharply criticising the South in this respect, possibly on
the whole such criticism has been beneficial. It results
partly from a long- established habit, and possibly in part
from hurt national pride. It is true that the disruptive
effects upon the individuals and communities where mob violence
breaks out is not all that it costs.

The horror and frequency of mob violence in the
South often brings comments from beyond the bovmds of our
coiintry that doubtless injure us as a nation, WTiether the
South is in general more lawless than other parts of the
country is beside the point: the fact that is is so consider-
ed, and that there is enough truth in the accusation to bring
it about is what counts so far as the South is a part of a
nation desirous of being highly esteemed by others. It is true

that, equally with and possibly even more than the phenomenal-
ly high homicide rate of the country, southern mob violence is
widely known and commented upon abroad more than any other form
of American lawlessness. Irrespective of comparisons, this
alone means that southern mob violence is a national and inter-
sectional problem as well as a local menace.

An English writer comments as follows: "Judged
by the standards of Britain and the British colonies, the
Southern 'ATaite man cannot be regarded as a law-abiding per-
son," Such criticisms would come irrespective of the horror
of specific cases of mob action in the South because it is so
very different from the more common types. In order to imagine
the askance with which a distinguished Hindoo recently listen-
ed to the story of inter-racial progress in the South, one Y/ill
have to remember that America is the only nation. Christian or
heathen, v/here lynching is common, and that it is the only
civilized country in the v/orld v/here men are burned alive.
Not being satisfied with the assurance of progress which v/as
showered upon him, he insisted upon more concrete evidence;
whereupon he heard, but evidently did not fully understand,
the follov/ing story: During the past year*^ less than twenty
people were murdered by mobs. Two of these were v/hite, and
only one was a woman. Of the total ntimber who met death at the
hands of mobs, only two were burned to death, and one was burn-
ed after being hanged and shot. No wonder the visitor from a
country and a race that we sometimes "look down upon" could

3. The year was 1925, ~~'

not understand how such a situation as had been described to
hira could possibly be considered hopeful. He had evidently
come to the wrong place for information on inter-racial
integration.

Possibly he would have been more bewildered still
had he been informed at the time that two men and a v/oman had
just been lynched in South Carolina, and that this episode was
"immediately follovired by a determined drive against Sunday
golf in that community, backed by the governor of the state
and the sheriff of the county," Of covirse, many golfers were
arrested but no one was ever indicted for the lynching, al-
tho\agh very soon afterwards the Governor knew by name the men
who did the lynching,^ Such inconsistencies add to the criti-
cism that is deservedly heaped upon the South,

In German nev/spapers commenting upon V/oodrow V/ilson»s
message against lynchings, it was stated that in America mob
murders are common. The St, Louis Republic replied in an
article under the caption, "America Pleads Guilty", The comic
newspapers of Moscow have compared Africa and America as
follows: The former is represented by a group of African
cannibals seated around a fire waiting for a helmeted white man
to be roasted, the picture being labeled, "In Barbarous Africa",
Another picture represents a Negro burning at the stake, sur-
rounded by a mob of gleeful whites, and is labelled, "In
Cultured America", Says Arthur Ruhl: "This aspect of our

4, W. W. Alexander, Have ;Ve Really Improved as to Lynching? ~
article in the Christian Advocate, Dec. 50, 1927. pTlO,

civilization, v/hich puzzles nearly all Eiiropeans, Is an easy
target for satire, and every once in so often comes a cartoon
of this sort or an editorial on "The Brute v;ith a Veneer of
Civilization,"

An English author recently wrote to an American as
follows: •••• "I may be permitted to express to opinion that
your country has still something to do to make America safe for
democracy and to insure the respect for constitutional methods."
The occasion for this letter was the publicly announced and
attended burning of Henry Lowery in j\rkansas in 1921, Comment-
ing on the same case an editorial from Tokyo, Japan, maintain-
ed that the creation of a strong public opinion tliroughout the
world will be necessary in order that sufficient pressure may
be brought to bear "on the American government to adopt
effective measures at once so as to make it impossible for
the American mobs to resort to these barbarous excesses,"^
In sharp criticism of the nation generally, the Review con-
tinues: "Americans vociferously claim to be the champions of
justice and hvunanity yet they do not hesitate to trample upon
these very principles and perpetrate the foulest deed ever
conceived ••*• It is an indelible stain on the name of
America ..•• It goes to demonstrate the utter callousness of
hearts of the American public."

Unfortxmate as it may be, it is nevertheless in-
evitable that foreign discussions of this subject be concerned
with "America" and "Americans", Nations see one another as a

5, Asian Review, May-June, 1921.

whole and not by sections. Such criticism as v;e have noted
is growing in volume. It is not complimentary, and doubtless
does some harm. It seems to indicate, along with other facts
to be noted subsequently, that mob violence, especially as
manifested in the South is a problem of sufficient importance
to merit a better xinder standing than our attention to it has
yet brought forth.

If the Japanese and the Europeans speak of America
as a lynching nation and hold all Americans responsible, so
are different sections within the nation referred to in little
less sweeping terms. With all the means of commumication, it
is very largely true that one section of the country does not
know and understand what is going on in the other© The pre-
valence of the fallacy of tiniversals, possibly as much as
anything else would warrant any degree of effort that a better
understanding of the causes and nature of mob action in the
South might be better xmderstood.

Again the time is ripe for any new light that may
be thrown on the subject. This is true for at least two good
reasons: Mob action in the South is, we have said, very
largely an inter-racial matter. The first available statis-
tics show that more white men than negroes were being lynched
annually. Along with the increasing sectional concentration
of mob violence as shown in Chapter V, there has been a steady
concentration on the Negro race. Prom 1889 to 1918, 78 per
cent of those lynched were negroes. From 1914 to 1918, 81.2
per cent and from 1917 to 1928 practically 95 per cent of all

persons lynched were negroes,^

Henry W, Grady long ago pointed out a fact now
more generally recognized as such. It Is up to the people of
the South to settle the problem of the harmonious adjustment
of the two races who do and must live here side by side. The
Negro has gradually and increasingly interwoven himself into
the fabric of southern life. It has been said that the long-
est road ever traveled by a race in three hundred years v/as
from Jungle in Africa to Highway in American civilization.
The Am.erican Negro has made that journey, for now he is in
the Highv/ay - as well as in the By-ways - of our life. He
is found, even in the South, in practically every business
and profession, 'Aliat is possibly more important still is the
general recognition on the part of the more enlightened folk
that Y/hatever makes for greater success on the part of the
Negro, m.akes for greater v/ealth and happiness for the South
as a whole. We are - regardless of the reticence v.dth which
some would admit it - racially interdependent. This is not
only true in matters economJ.c, and in matters of health and
sanitation, but is coming to be so culturally as well. Each
year brings added proof that the Negro has his contribution
to make to the whole life of the South and the Nation,

That the Negro is veritably - and adirdttedly - an
indispensable part of our economic structure in the South Is
shovm by an Incident v/hich at the same time indicates some-

6. It is interesting to note further that 74 per cent of all
whites Ijmched during the past decade met that fate in the
South,

thing of the nature of the problem of adjustment as yet to

"be made complete. During the World War v/hen labor was scarce

and wages high in the North, negroes started forth by the

thousands. They wanted better wages, but even more than that

they wanted justice before the law and better educational

opportunities." Some of the southern states exerted great

effort to see that the Negroes did not leave. First, "moral

suasion", then force v;as employed to impede the movement

northward. City ordinances required that labor agents pay as

high as .'i[;1000 license fees. In Macon, Georgia, - the state

which leads in lynchings - the City Cotmcil raised the license

fee for labor agents to ;|^25,000.

At Greenvile, Mississippi, trains were stopped.
Negroes were dragged therefrom and others were pre-
vented from boarding them. Strangers were searched
for evidence that might convict them as labor agents, "7

Whereas a generation ago It v/as only the few who

realized the importance, or contemplated the ultimate solution,

of the vast problem of racial adjustm.ent, today it may be said

that all people of any appreciable degree of enlightenment are

concerned about it, Rotighly it may be said that the beginning

of the Centxxry marked a change in attitude on the part of an

ever-increasing number of southern people. Before that time,

and often since, inter-sectional accusations interspersed v/ith

sharp enough epithets have been the principal contributions of

the North and the South toward the problem of racial adjustment.

It is true that this has been needed, and has been somewhat

7. Negro Migration During the War, Preliminary Economic Studies
of the V.ar, No. 16, Chapter IV,

effective. Such "outside" organizations as the National

Association for the Advancement of Colored People have on

the whole done tremendously more good than harm. The only

"harm" they are known to have done is that in a few instances

they have afforded an excuse for trouble that apparently

would have happened anyway, ° It is highly probable that the

next generation of Southerners will m.ore appreciate this

particular organization than has the present one. Together

with many people of the South who have increased in number

throughout the past generation, they have helped to bring

before the general public a problem hitherto contemplated by

the few. The result is that what once soxinded nev/ - almost

as if it had fallen out of the skies - is today commonplace,

even taken for granted, by a majority of the southern people.

In 1906, Hon. V/illiam H. Fleming, said in Athens, Georgia:^

This much seems clear, beyond doubt, that the whites
are going to stay in this Southland for all time,
and so are the negroes,,. If, then, both races are
to remain together, the plainly sensible thing for
statesmen of this day to do is to devise the best
modus Vivendi, or working plan, by which the great-
est good can be accomplished for ourselves and our
posterity.

Today these v/ords would not bring nev/spaper comment
and personal letters from all over the nation. Not so m.uch
that they are not appropriate, or needed; they are too common-
place for v/ide comment. Today no Southern Governor would make
public announcement, to be carried in large headlines hours

8, See Chapter VII, Gases No. 7, 10, '

9, Slavery and the Race Problem in the South, An address before
the Alumni Society of the State University in Athens,
Georgia, June 19, 1906,

in advance, that he is pov/erless to prevent a lynching. No

Southern Congressman v/ould stand on the floor of the United

States Senate today and say;-^^

Yes, we have stuffed ballot-boxes, and will stuff them
again; we have cheated niggers in elections, and v/ill
cheat them again; v/e have disfranchised niggers, and
will disfranchise all we v/ant to; we have killed and
lynched niggers and will kill and lynch others; we
have bxorned niggers at the stalce and will burn others;
a nigger has no right to live anyhow, unlesn a v/hite
man wants him to live. If you don*t like it you can
liimp it.

There is not a southern state whose leaders would stand for
that sort of "representation" at the National Capital.

Once critics at the North ciirsed the South and
praised the Negro, The South in t\irn cursed both the North
and the Negro - the former for "butting in" and the latter
largely as a matter of habit. The time when this was general-
ly true is no more. There has come with the passing of the
years a diminution of that type of "Americanism" which held,
(1) that no issue can have two sides; (2) that if through
some grave error of Nature or Man, in a single issue there
are two sides, one of them must be eradicated. Today there is
a large degree of sympathy and some understanding back and
forth across the Mason-Dixon line. When there is an outbreak
of mob violence in the North or South, neither objects to the
criticism of the other, and generously adds its own. Since
the beginning of the Century, and more especially during the
past decade the nvunber of southern nev/spapers readily con-

10. See J. E, WTiite, Thinking Y^liite about the Negro in tEe
South, p. 124, quoting from a speech by a South Carolina
Senator,

12
demnlng mob violence has grown steadily. The time Is £,one,
consequently, when the tone of an editorial about southern
lawlessness indicates the section, or even the state, from
which it comes.

Moreover, - and some have claimed this to be the
last "tack in the coffin" of lynching - southern women in large
groups have repudiated the idea that men are lynched for their
protection. They have asked that more stringent law enforcement
take the place of lawlessness in their name. Thus it would
seem that the time has come when it no longer suffices for the
North to call Southerners in general "dastardly murderers", and
for the South to ansv/er through a Senator of the type qioted
above. When public opinion in both sections is against mob
^iolence, there must be some other reason than a murderous in-
tent that is general for its ccntlnuatlon. It is with the hope
of throwing some light on the problem thus raised that this
study is made. The aim and purpose of the study is to picture
the actual situation with regard to the characteristic type of
mob action in the South, and to approach an explanation of its
persistence in the Tv/entleth Century.

Attitude and Method of Approach

Irrespective of sectional lines those who today
concern themselves v/ith the phenomena of mob action in the
South are roughly divisible into two groups. First, there
are those who are outraged at the situation, and who, upon
hearing of some manifestation of mob violence, vociferously
pronounce the whole state or section of the covintry in which

It occurs as being "rotten to the core". They then proceed
to remedy matters by describing and lambasting in a general
way large sectors of the whole population of the nation. The
follOT/ing quotation is possibly a fairly representative state-
ment from this group: "Let it be clearly known that the lyncher
is a murderous dastard, trying to siailk behind a woman's petti-
coats, to avoid being known as the vile thing he is. The
statistics prove conclusively that the talk of protecting woman-
hood by torturing and burning men at the stake is an insolent
lie, and knovm to be such by those who most find it convenient
to make use of the subterfuge.,.. This is an exhibition of
Delev/are morality under the strain of race prejudice, "■'■-'■ If
it be granted that every word of the statement is true, they
contain little enlightenment for him who would either remedy
or understand. From this group, as in the past we have
generously received, in the future we may expect, a super-
abundance of possibly well-meaning but ill-formed moral
enthusiasm, and little else.

Then, there are those - apparently much smaller in
ntimber - who conceive of hiiman nature as being much the same
everyv/here. They believe when a criminal outbtirst, such as an
episode of violence, takes place that psychologically this is
not different in nature from any other hvunan activity. All
behavior is conceived as the response of the human organism
to stimuli. This group asks such questions as this: In so
far as every single reaction is the normal one, presumably

11, Italics are mlneV

the only possible one in fact, for that particular organism
to make In that particular situation; where there is mob
action which is classed as abnormal and undesirable from the
standpoint of present concepts of civilization, is it not
because there are abnormal individual, cultural, social,
political, economic or other conditions existing in the par-
ticular Individuals and communities at the particular time
in question? To approach the study in this attitude means
that state-wide and sectional generalizations are important
only as backgrounds for an analysis of the local situation
involved in the particular episode of mob violence under
consideration. The method of approach is, therefore, largely
that of regional sociology with emphasis on the social-psy-
chological.

For those who believe in social guidance there Is
hope in such a study for a worth-while contribution tov/ard
attaining an insight into the proper nature of, hence the
proper remedy for, a perplexing social problem. For those
who follow the philosophy that "in the long run oxxr iincivi-
lized propensities will be outgrown," but that "meanwhile there
is no cure," there is yet hope of being able to look ahead and
see whither, and at what rate, we are going. Indeed it is
not the principal purpose here to discover and elaborate
remedies. Rather the aim is to picture as accurately as possi-
ble the actual situation with regard to mob violence in the
South, especially as it persists in the Twentieth Century,
Those more directly concerned with amelioration are continual-
ly in need of information concerning the fvmdamental nature
of the problem v/ith which they deal. There are, and

U ,'iL- &•

lllLve long been, many whose concern it is to eradicate law-
lessness from the cultural complex of the American people.
There is an ever- enlarging group of those especially desirous
that the type of lav/lessness exemplified in lynchings and
floggings characteristic of the South shall cease to be. Yet
among this group there are those who are not far removed
from the Astronomer of the Middle Ages who kept an idiot in
his observatory, hoping that by his inarticulate mutterings
the secrets of science might be revealed. They hesitate,
even falter, at the workings of the hxunan mind, v/hich through
the ages has remained a mystery still. However, if we are
to oinderstand human behavior we must approach it tlirotigh the
mental and physical processes involved.

The human behavior called mob violence is no
exception. To linderstand this type of phenomena permits of
no "revelations" such as the astronomer sought, V/e cannot
longer expect, for example, to understand why men hang and
burn one another, without setting oiirselves to the task of
studying these men as reacting organisms in particular social
and physical environments, •'•^ They are not "American" or
"Southerners," or even "Georgians" and "Mississippians,"
They are particular Americans v/ith particular behavior- equip-
ments coning from particular physical and cultiiral inherit-
ances, reacting in specific situations to specific stimuli.
It is thus that v;e get particular reactions, - floggings,
mobbing, lynching, hanging, burning, etc,

12, Cf« Hollingvvorth, Leta S., ^lie Psychology of Subnormal

Children, p. 170'^

ti.-.

Approaching the task from the point of view in-
dicated, it seems advisable to combine the historical,
statistical and case study methods. Through the historical
approach v/e may determine the type of situations conducive
to the origin and perpetuation of mob violence. We may point
out hov/ particular forms of this phenomena arose and hov/ they
have persisted. Prom a detailed statistical analysis the
extent, general nature and characteristics of mob action :nay
be discovered, - facts hardly to be ascertained, otherwise.
Moreover, it is from such an analysis that we may discover
those particular sections of the South v/here mob action is
so characteristic as to require more specific considerationo
Having the historical and statistical data before us as a
background, through the case-study method we may more speci-
fically and concretely get at the nature and effects of
particular mob episodes.

CHAPTER II
EARLY HISTORY OF MOB VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES

The theory of the new historian holds true in all
social phenomena, A thing is about what it is because of
what it has been. Mob violence is not to be understood merely
by a study of its Tv/entieth Century manifestations. It is
one of the oldest, one of the most deeply rooted of all
American practices. In a manner, as v/e shall see, this prac-
tice 7/a3 eminently respectable in its origin. It is, possibly
because of this fact, yet regarded by its adlierents not as in
opposition to the established lav/s, but rather as a supple-
ment to them - a species of common law which is as old as
the country. Therefore, as a social and cultural background
for a detailed consideration of mob violence in the South,
it is important that we trace the history of this practice in
the United States,

Stories concerning the origin of the term "lynch-
law" are numerous,-'- Although many of them are apparently

1\ For many years "lynching" was a general term used as "mob
violence" is used today.

pure fiction, at the same time they throw light on the history
of the practices described and for that reason are worth re-
lating here. Later we shall relate what seems to he the true
story of the origin of the term. Meantime, in clironological
order, we take up those which have been offered v/ith more or
less evidence at different times. The oldest one of these
comes from across the sea,

James Pits-Stephen Lynch, Mayor and V/arden of Gal-
way, Ireland, is said to have publicly hanged his ovm son
in defiance of a mob bent upon rescuing him from the hands of
the law. Various versions of this story are/be foiind. The
substance of all of them is that the Mayor, who condemned
Walter F, S, Lynch to death for the murder of the son of a
Spanish friend, v/as determined that the law should take its
course. The Mayor *s wife assembled her pov/erful kinsmen who
were about to storm his house where the son was confined.
Fearing that justice might be diverted, the Mayor took his
son to a second story; "there he secured the end of a rope
which had been previously fixed around the neck of his son,
to an iron staple which projected from the wall, and, after
taking from him a last embrace, he launched him into eterni-
ty." It is pretty evident that this incident really happen-
ed, and, although its connection v/ith extra-legal piinishment
in this country is obscure, yet many people have given this
as the true origin of "lynch-law". The window from which
young Lynch is supposed to have hung is shown to the traveler
today. Under it he reads: "This memorial of the stern and
unbending justice of the ciiief -magistrate of the city, James

Pitz-Stephen Lynch, elected mayor A. D. 1493, who condemned
and executed his ovra guilty son, Walter, on this spot, has
been restored to its ancient site." It is said that there
is contained in the minutes of the council books of Galway
this entry: "James Lynch, mayor of Galway, hanged his own
son out of the windoy/ for defrauding and killing strangers,
v/ithout martial or common lav/, to show a good example to
posterity," Concerning its connection with lynch-law in
this country. Cutler discounts the Galway story stating tliat
it may be dismissed with but little consideration. So far
as v;e know the term lynch-law has always connoted a form of
stumnary punishment without, or in opposition to, established
law. On the other hand, it is pointed out, the Mayor of
Galway was the legally constituted authority in whose court
his son, presumably"" by a fair trial, was sentenced to hang.
Thus the victim in this story was not "lynched", but was
executed by a judge of the court. It would appear that the
connection of the Galway story with lynch-law as we know it
caine after the term had been coined. Although this story is
told over and over again, its source is from Hardiman, the
Galway annalist, who narrated it in proof of "the unsullied

"2. Cf. Chambers Jouj'nal, January 1, 1916. p. 16,

3, James E. Cutler, Lynch Law, p. 15, Cf. Hardiman* s History
of Galway, Dublin, 1820. p. 70; London Spectator, April,
13, 1889. Through the ''Miscellany of the Irish Archeo-
logical Society", 1846, Vol. 1, pp. 44-80, in possession
of Mr, Albert Matthews of Boston, the story can be traced
back as far as the year 1674,

4, Cf. H. C. Featherston, Green Bag, March, 1900, 12:150ff.

5 , According to most of the accounts given of the affair.

honour, the strict adherence to truth, and love of impartial
justice" which 7/as proverbially characteristic of Galway,
Commenting on Hardiman's narrative, the editor of "Chambers
Journal" has pointed out that his heart was more generous
than his head was logical, "for what he calls 'an appalling
instance of inflexible justice* occurred in opposition to
the wishes of the townsfolk whose love of justice he
praises,''^ It is doubtful that many of the early settlers
in this country knew this story. "Lynch-law" did not become
prevalent in Ireland.

There is what is known as the "pirate story" of
the origin of the name lynch-law. One named Lynch was sent
from England to America about 1687 under a commission to
suppress the growing evil of piracy. It is supposed that,
due to the difficulty of complying v/ith the usual forms of
law, this Judge Lynch "wgs empowered to proceed summarily
against pirates", thus giving rise to the term lynch's law,'''
Cutler considers this story - in so far as it accounts for
the term lynch-law - as "equally fanciful and fictitious but
less romantic" than the Galway story. He concludes as follows:
"iffhatever the facts may be about the methods employed by this
man Lynch to suppress piracy, there is no evidence to show
that they were ever known as Lynch* s law, or had any connection
whatever v/ith lynch-law." (page 16) At least there was a

'6, Op, cit, p. 15.

7. London Gazette. No, 2319, '-February^ 1687; The American Cyclo-
pedia (1875 edition), "Lynch Law ; A. G, Bradley, "The
Origin in Lynch Law", Chambers Journal, May, 1915; Cutler,
op, cit. p. 16.

man named Lynch who practiced "lynch-law" v/hether it was so
called or not. The story represents the early practice rather
than name of the practice,

A Tory named Major Beard was hanged on Lynch Creek
in Franklin Cotmty, North Carolina, in 1778, The name lynch-
law has been ascribed to this incident. A false alarm to the
effect that Tories were near is said to have caused the hang-
ing to take place prematurely, before an intended court-martial.
Afterward realizing the illegality of the hanging, it is re-
lated that:

The body was then taken down, the court reorganized,
he v/as tried, condemned and re-hung by the neck
until he was dead. The tree on which he was hung
stood not far from Rocky Ford, on Lynch 's Creek; and
it became a saying in Franklin, v/hen a person committ-
ed an offence of magnitude, that 'he ought to be taken
to Lynch Creek'; and so the v/ord ''Lynch law' became
a fixture in the English Language, ^

There is also a Lynch Creek in South Carolina,
Albert Matthews has found reason to believe that possibly it
was here that lynch-law derived its name, Boston newspapers
of 1768, dated Charlestown, South Carolina, indicate the ex-
istence of "Regulators" at the time, and that they held meet-
ings on Lynch Creek, One of their methods of punishment was
by whipping. It is true that for many years this was called,
along with other more severe forms of punishment, simply
"lynching".

In Niles' Register we find still another anecdote
under the caption, "Origin of Lynch' s law",^^ It is rather

8. John H. 7i/heeler, Reminiscences and Memories of North
• Carolina, (1384) p. 172,

9, The Nation, Dec. 4, 1902, 75:439ff,
10, Vol. 48, August 8, 1835, p. 402.

Indefinite and in other ways apparently fictitious, but it
throws light on the practice under considerationo The follow-
ing occurrence, according to the writer, tooljC place "in vVash-
ington County, Pennsylvanis, many years ago": A certain vai-
popular man had been ordered to quit the coiraminity within
twenty-four hours, V^hen he failed to comply, a small group
of his neighbors went to his home, tried him "in due form,
choosing one of their number, a farmer named Lynch, to be
judge," This "judge" pronounced a sentence of three hiindred
lashes "well laid on" and an extension of his time for twenty-
four hours and then, if he should still be in the community,
he was again to receive three hundred lashes,

, The first part of the sentence was inflicted on
the spot with such good intent as to render its
repetition iinnecessary. The culprit m.ade off
as fast as his lacerated limbs would permit him.

Cutler points out that this was "merely an instance
of recourse to summary procedure against an lonpopular indi-
vidual", and tliat it may or may not have been known at that
time as punishment by Lynches law. Evidence that it was known
by this name is lacking. That the practice described was
known in Penhsylvanis "many years ago" before 1835, is not to
be doubtedo Let us turn now to a somewhat detailed considera-
tion of what is known as the "Virginia story" of the origin
of the term "Lynch-law",

Tories and Desperadoes in Virginia

The most generally accepted account of the origin
of the term lynch-lav/ - an account for many years \inquestioned

on either side of the Atlantic - is that v/hich c enters about
one Charles Lynch of Bedford County Virginia, -^-^ The story
has reference to the kind of law administered by this Charles
Lynch dtiring the latter part of the Revolutionary War, From
the beginning there has been a considerable opposition to
the movement for independence, and this was especially true
in the mountainous sections of Virginia, In Bedford County
where Lynch lived there v/as quite a number of Tories, At
the time, also, this section of Virginia sheltered many
desperadoes. Both Tories and Desperadoes harassed the Con-
tinentals and plundered property v;ith impunity. Horse-
stealing in particular was a lucrative practice due to the
high prices paid by both armies for them. At the time, more-
over, the inefficiency of the judiciary m.ade punishment al-
most out of the question. The cottnty courts were merely
examining coxirts in all felony cases, and the final coxirt for
all cases sat at 7/illiamsburg,' more than one hundred mJ.les
avmy. To take prisoners there was practically im.possible.
Frequently while on the way with prisoners, officers v/ould
be attacked by outlaws or captured by British troops.

It was under these clrcvmiBtances that Charles Lynch

11. Cutler, op. cit. (pp. 23ff J gives a full accoxint of thfs

story, v/hich he takes from the following soTxrces: Julia
Mayo Cabelle, Sketches and Recollections of Lynchburg,
(1858), pp. 9-23, concerning the Lynch family of Virginia;
Thos. V/. Page's article in the "Atlantic L'onthly", Dec,
1901, (88:731ff), and an article in the Green Bag, March
1900, (12:150ff) by H. C. Peatherston with information
pertaining especially to Charles Lynch,

r -

. 1.1

^±-^z.

conferred v/ith his neighbors as to v/hat might be done. The
situation was beccinlng vmbearable. After some deliberation
they decided to take matters into their own hands, to punish
lawlessness of every kind and thereby to restore peace and
security to the conmiunity. An organization with Mr, Lynch
at the head was formed. Suspected persons were brought to
his house where they were tried by an orderly court composed
of Lynch as presiding justice, and his three neighbors,
William Preston, Robert Adams, Jr., and James Calloway act-
ing as associate justices.

The procedure of this court is interesting v/hen
noted in the light of more modern "lynching". It illustrates
the "devolution" of the practice through the years that have
passed. The accused was brought face to face v/ith his ac-
cusers. He was permitted to hear the testimony against him,
and to defend himself by calling witnesses in his behalf.
If acquitted, as v/as often the case, he was allowed to go,
not infrequently with apologies and reparation. If convicted,
he was sentenced to receive thirty-nine lashes on the bare
back; and, if found to be a Tory, he must either shout "Liberty
Forever"! or else hang^ by the thumbs until he did so. The
execution of the sentence always took place immediately upon
conviction. Due possibly to Lynch' s u:uaker proclivities, or
to his "native sense of humanity", the death penalty was
never paid under the shadov/ of the famous old '.Valnut tree on
Lynch 's lawn. Page cites evidence to show that "both custom
and sentiment were violently opposed to visiting capital

, ^^ ,.^. f-l-,.

A.-r

.ii'.'

punishnent upon the detected Tory conspirators,"

There is said to have been only tliree instances of
capital punishment in Bedford County hetv/een the time of its
organization and the Revolution, The first of these was a
Negro slave, Hamilton, convicted of "Administering Poysonous
Medicines to Ann Payne", his master *s v/ife. His value being
determined by the court and paid to Payne, Hamilton was "hang-
ed by the Neck till dead", after v/hich he was cut into quarters
"and his quarters hung up at the Cross Roads. "-^^

Lynch v/as made a Colonel and v/as placed in command
of a regiment of militia. Encouraged by the news of the
invasion of Virginia by Cornwallis in 1780, the Bedford Tories
formed a conspiracy to sieze the stores which Lynch had col-
lected. News of the conspiracy, throvigh one of the Tories
themselves, according to tradition, reached Lynch and he im-
mediately had a number of them arrested. They were considered
by Lynch as being guilty of treason against the Revolutionary
government. It was true, of course, that the General Coiirt
alone had jurisdiction in cases of treason, but Lynch v/as up
against a practical difficulty. He v/as about to set out for
the front; he could not afford to take the Tories alon^ on a
rapid march, and felt it unsafe to turn them loose after

12, In proof of the contention that at this time race prejudice
did not operate against the Negro in the matter of justice
before the courts. Page states that during the sam.e year
(1756), at the same place, "a negro v/as tried for miorder,
another for poisoning, and a third for arson, and all were
cleared." Cf, Cutler, op.cit. p. 31,

administering the usual thirty-nine lashes and extracting the
xin^villing cry of "Liberty"] He therefore sentenced the whole
group, including a former fellov/ justice on the county bench,
to terms of imprisonment ranging from one to five years.

After the close of the War there v/ere threats of
prosecution on the part of some of those who had suffered this
illegal sentence, whereupon Lynch brought the whole matter be-
fore the Virginia Legislature in 1782, After much debate a
law was passed, the substance of which is as follows: Although
the measures taken by Lynch and his friends Preston, Adams and
Galloway, "and other faithful citizens", may not have been
strictly warranted by law, they had, by timely and effective
measures, suppressed a conspiracy formed by "divers evil-dis-
posed persons in the year one thousand seven hundred and
eighty.., (who) did actually attempt to levy v/ar against the
commonwealth." Their measures v/ere, therefore "justifiable
from the imminence of the danger". It was enacted that these
gentlemen "and all other persons v/hatsoever concerned in
suppressing the conspiracy" be exhonerated,''-^ Page says that
the lengthy debate in the Virginia Legislatvire about this
bill "aroused the interest of the whole coimtry" and that "the
proceedings in Bedford v/hich the legislatvire thus pronounced
to be illegal, but justifiable, were imitated in other parts
of the State, and came to be known by the name of Lyn^h^s law."
NTimerous citations from as m.any books and articles v/ritten

13» Quoted by Cutler, from Henlng's Statutes at Large, Vol, XI,"
pp. 134-135,

5* i '

'-t:frf,(fr

■•h or

within the next few years indicate this as the true source

14
of the expression "lynch-law".

There is considerable evidence to show that the
term lynch-lav/ was not in use, certainly not to any general
extent, before this time. This, together with the fact that
soon after the legislative enactment the term was in general
use, largely discredits the Carolina stories given above. It
is true, for example, that "regulating" was known in South
Carolina in 1768, and doubtless meetings were held on Lynch
Creek as per the nev/spaper announcement referred to above.
But "regulating" began earlier than 1768 and far away from
Lynch Creek in South Carolina, At least two years earlier
the practice was in vogue in Granville, Orange, and Anson
counties. North Carolina, In a general meeting held on
April 4, 1768 the appelation of "mob" v/hich seems to have been
adopted by themselves, was dropped by those who had been tak-
ing part in the proceedings and the name of "Regulators" was
formally adopted, 15 Moreover, v/hen the practice of "regulat-
ing v;as introduced into South Carolina, apparently in the
summer of 1767, it was not in the region of Lynch Creek, '-^-liere
is little reason to suppose, therefore, that when regulating
reached this region its name v/ould have been changed from
"regulating" to "lynch-law". ^^

14. See the nxmerous and lengthy footnotes given by Cutler,
op, cit, pp, 30-37,

15. Cf. Cutler, p. 20; Alexander Gregg, History of the Old
Cherav/s, (1867) p. 129; F. X, Maxin,1II story of North '
Carolina, (1812) Vol. II, pp. 228, 233; Hugh V/illiamson,
History of North Carolina, (1812), Vol. II, pp. 128, 131,

16. J, B. 0»Neal, The Annals of Newberry, (1859), pp, 78-79.

an?

owct

^ r

, . il.

Thirty-three years before he wrote the story cited
above to show how "lynch-law" became a word of the English
language by its use in Franklin County, North Carolina,
Wheeler had written in his History of North Carolina an account
of the hanging of "Captain Beard about 1778". While by the
two accounts, as well as other facts, it is evident that the
"Captain Beard" referred to is the same in both accounts, in
the first v/ritten there is no reference v/hatevery to the term
lynch-law. It would seem that this term had come into use
before his second writing, at which time it was added to the
account. It is very plausible that, after the Beard incident,
the people of Franklin County, North Carolina, - at least some
of them - used the expression *he ought to be taken to Lynch
Creek', This, however, would not mean that "lynch-law" became
"a fixture in the English language",

Etymologically the concept involved has been traced

much further back of any of the dates considered. To quote

from Cutler:

On its etymological side the word lynch has been
traced to an old /Jiglo-Saxon verb »linch», mean-
ing to beat severely with a pliable instrvunent,
to chastise or to maltreat, which is said to have
survived In this cognate meaning in America, as
have many other v^fords and expressions long obsolete
in Great Britain,

While he maintains that there is no authority for this deri-
vation, it v/ould seem that his statement to the effect that
all evidence that "such an Anglo-Saxon verb ever existed" is
wanting, is a bit extreme. ^"^ C. A. Brlsted, in an Essay on

17, His supposition is based upon the fact that he failed to
find the verb 'linch» or »linge» in either Bosv/orthls
Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon Language, or Stratmann's,
Middle-English Dictionary,

1 I

the English Language in America, says that 'Llnch' in
"several of the northern- county dialects means to beat or
maltreat. Lynch Law, then, would he simply equivalent to
club-law. ""^^ He points out that the change of a letter may
easily be accounted for by the fact that the name Lynch "is
as common in some parts of America as In Ireland", Cutler
quotes, to the disfavor of Bristed, the most significant
statement made by him in this connection. After Bristed had
ingeniously traced lynch-law back to the verb 'llnch'. Cutler
points out, he then proceeded to remark that "if there ever
was a phrase deemed particularly Trans-atlantic In origin,
it Is that of 'Lynch Law' for siimmary and informal justice, "•'■^
It would seem that Bristed, being a linguist, was speaking of
one thing while Cutler was concerned with another - and that
both were right, except In so far as the latter denied that
such a verb ever existed. From English versions of our sub-
ject, it would seem beyond doubt that 'llnch* is an old term,
and that it carries the connotation nov/ Inherent in it. Thus
in "Chambers' Journal" quoted above, after a review of the
"Galway story", the writer continues:

7/e may suspect, I think with reason, the various
American stories, which profess to derive the v/ord
from some Judge Lynch, if we remember that there is
a good English provincialism, 'to lynch', 'linse',
or 'llnch', meaning 'to beat', and that the phrase
'club-law' means much the same as 'lynch-law', 'To
lynch' would not be the first English provincialism
to s\irvlve amongst our American cousins with an
extended meaning.

18, Cambridge Essays, (1855), p. 60.

19, Quoted by Cutler, Note, No, 2, p. 17,

o r

There la, however, no direct evidence that the
term lynch-law was used anywhere In the world before 1782,
Copious private correspondence as well as many historical
works give abtmdant evidence for the account nov; most
generally accepted; that lynch-law came from Virginia and

is directly connected with the actions of Charles Lynch and

20
his neighbors.

It is quite clear that within the next thirty or
forty years lynching - signifying any sort of summary punish-
ment - was knov/n by that name over wide areas of the cotmtry.
There are possibly two reasons for this quick spread of the
term, both of which have already been clearly indicated. In
the first place It seems well within the range of plausibility
to grant that the Anglo-Saxon verb 'to linch* was a part of
the mental equipment of early settlers in this country. There
seem.s to be no reason why Brlsted should have traced the
word fvirther back had its origin been American, Furthermore
to doubt the North Carolina saying "he ought to be taken
to Lynch Creek" is unv/arranted. It is true also that the
"regulators" held meetings on Lynch Creek in South Carolina,
Moreover, it is possible that many of the Irish in America
knew the story of Galway, 'Alien, therefore, the term lynch-
lav/ and lynching were used in Virginia after the legislative
enactment v/hich was widely discussed, it Is very easy to

20, Due apparently to a statement in Haydon's Dictionary of
Dates (1860) to the effect that Lynch-lav/ derived its
name after John Lynch who summarily punished fugitive
slaves and criminals in the dismal swamp of N. C, seems
to have become the accepted story in France. Cf . Revue
de Devix Mondes, May, 1891,

Ob;

Jbi

understand how the word should have taken hold in these other
sections. Wlnen we remember hov; the culture areas gradually
extended out from each of the Atlantic states on tov/ard the
West, It is not difficult to understand why by 1830 lynching 3
were so called from every part of the country then inhabited
by English, The other apparent reason for the rapid spread
of the term under consideration is that the practice of which
it was the name, was wide- spread. The early history of this
practice which was later named lynch- law deserves a fuller
treatment, to which we nov/ turn oijir attention.

Early American Lynch- Law;

The origin of the term "lynch- law" does not mark
the origin of the practice which it indicates. The latter
might be traced back to the origin of courts, for since that
time, in every country so far as v/e Icnow, there has been some
sort of extra-legal punishment analogous to the American
practice. The Vehmic courts of Germany in the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries grev/ out of a necessity not wholly unlike
that which brought the practice to America, "Cowper justice"
and"Jedburg justice" originated on the early Scotch border
where desperadoes are said to have been hanged without a trial.
Cutler quotes from and Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish
language that "in mockery of justice, assizes were held upon
them after that they had suffered", (p. 8) There is an
English proverb which runs as follows: "First hang and drav/,
then hear the cause by Lidford law," In a dictionary of the

Ttr^r

seventeenth century, LydTord law Is defined as "a certain

Law whereby they first hang a Man and afterwards indite

him". Thus the Franklin County North Carolinians v/ho hang-
ed Beard and tried him afterwards follov/ed an old precedent.
All these expressions are so many different names
that characterize the methods employed in various parts of
other covmtries for executing popular justice. Like the
Vehmlc tribunals in Germany, Lydford law and Halifax law in
England, and Cowper Justice and Jedburg Justice in Scotland
gradually gave way along with the more effective execution
of established laws by the officials, ^^ While Cutler is
doubtless correct in maintaining that lynch-lav/ as we know
it cannot be traced back to these medieval practices, they
were not originally as different in nature from our lynch-
law as he suggests. He points out that "These practices
differ from lynch-law in not dispensing v/lth all regular pro-
ceedings", and that "the death penalty was not at first in-
flicted under lynch-law". As for dispensing with regular
proceedings, this was a later development; for all early
references to sTxmmary punishment Indicate that the common
practice was to hold a regular trial "in due form". True,
lynching was once synonymous with whipping, but the Con-
ditions out of which it came were not unlike those which
occasioned Lydford law and Jedburg justice; and siimmary hang-
ings, although not so called before 1782, had long been the
practice in this country. To these practices immediately the

^1, Qp-oted from The Nev/ World of A'ordSg or A General English

Dictionary. (1678, 4th. editlbnr* by Edward Phillips:
22. Cutler, op. cit. p. 5, 6,

riv

, :«

term lynch-law was applied. The dictionary definitions of

lynch-law during the first half of the nineteenth century

indicate that it meant merely punishing without trial. In

the latter half of the century hov/ever the term was taking

on a more specific meaning, as is illustrated by the follo\v-

ing definitions:

To punish without the forms of law; specifically
to hang by mob-law. (1885), (Cutler, p, 10),

Lynch: To inflict punishment upon, especially
death,, without the forms of law, as when a mob
captures and hangs a suspected person, (1893),
Cutler, p. 11),

With the passing of time the operation of lynch-law became

more severe, until by the end or soon after the Civil War it

was practically synonymous with capital punishment by a mob.^*^

Since the Reconstruction period, therefore, the specific

meaning of "lynching" has necessitated the use of the specific

terms "flogging", "tarring and feathering", etc. for minor

punishments by mobs. Mob-violence is now the more generall;!;ed

term covering both categories, as well as such phenomena as

strikes and race riots.

In the earliest recorded act of mob-violence in

the country Negroes played only a minor part. Two men, Bov/em

and Morrill, killed ty/o Indians in 1753, v/ho v/ere accused of

carrying off two Negroes the year before. The night before

these men were to be tried for murder, - on March 20, 1754 -

23, The term ''mob" which we shall discuss more at lenght in
Chapter VIII^^ is very old. It is traced back to aljout
1680, and is of latin origin. Its connotation is "mobile",
"emotional", "rabble". Encyclopedia Brittanlca, 11th, ed.
"Lynch Law", Vol, XVII, p. 169o

a mob broke open the jail and set them free, A reward
offered by Governor Wentworth, as well as the great ex-
citement aroused in the cormminity by the "outrage" failed
to affect an apprehension and trial of the murderers,

••In a short time they went openly about their
business, vd.thout fear of molestation, and the
men engaged in brealdng the jail at Portsmouth, .
though well known, were never called to account,
but, on the contrary, were considered as having
performed a most meritorious act. In fact, some
of the most substantial men in the country were
engaged in the rescue., and the Government could
not have made an arrest had they made the attempt, ^^

About the middle of December, 1763, there occurred
what is claimed by some to have been the first instance of
lynck-la^ff in this country. The Scotch-Irish who had settled
around Paxtang, now Harrlsbxirg, Pennsylvania, had little
patience with the Quaker government which treated with con-
tempt their appeals for help in dealing with the Indians,
The settlers of Lancaster and Cumberland counties, there-
fore, formed themselves into several companies of Rangers for
the purpose of patrolling the borders and giving protection
to their families. Under the leadersMp of one Matthew Smith,
the Rangers went out to an Indian settlement. One on the
Rangers upon seeing an Indian whom he is said to have recog-
nized as the murderer of his Mother, shot him down. Then the
"Furious mob rushed into the cabins, and killed all the Indians
whom they fovmd there, some six in number,"

"fe4. Quoted by Cutler from New Hampshire Provincial Papers, VI,

262-266 in possession of Albert Matthews of Boston,
25, Cutler, op, cit, p, 42,

Fourteen of the Indians escaped and fled to Lan-
caster where they were lodged in jail for protection. Word
was received by the men at Paxtang that an Indian who had
nnirdered relatives of their number was among those in jail.
Under the leadership of Lazarus Stewart about fifty of the
Rangers on December 27, marched to Lancaster, broke open the
the jail, and "v/ith the fury of a mob, massacred every Indian

contained therein, man, v/oman, and child". There are other

instances of such summary dealings v/ith the Indians, but it

seems that these were after all rather isolated incidents and
that the practice of "sximmary justice" had a different origin.

There is no sharp break in the counter-atrocities
agf^inst Indians from the time of the arrival of the Europeans
until after law courts had long been established. It is quite
certain that before the earliest cases on record, which we
have recited, there v/as a form of sujnmary justice called
"regulating". This practice was found, not only out on the
boarders, but also in the older and better organized commun-
ities. The first record of this type of lynch-law is to be
found in the December 18, 1752 copy of the New York Gazette,
which intimates that the practice was not old enough to be
well known at that time, "Regulars" are mentioned as giving
most severe v/hippings to men who were kno'jTn to beat their
wives. That these men were not following out the wishes of
the community in general is indicated by the fact that they

E6. Cf. C. A. Hanna: The Scotch-Irish, (1502) p. 60,

27, Cf. W. H. Smith: The St Clair Papers, (1882) II, 351, 374,

376, 396-97; Culler, op. cit. p. 45.

dressed themselves in women's clothes and painted their

faces, ^®

In the New Jersey Archives (1879) is found a copy

of a letter dated December 7, 1753, written by one "Prudence

Goodwife", After telling how her husband had beaten her, she

says in part:

My case being nois'd abroad, induced several generous
young men to discipline him. These yoiing Persons do
stile, or are stiled Regulators: and so they are
with Propriety: for they have regulated my dear Hus-
band, and the rest of the bad Ones hereabouts, that
they are afraid of using such Barbarity,

Mention is then made of certain men, presumably wife-beaters,

who had been instrumental in, or had attempted to, "have those

dear Regulators indicted", indicating that their actions were

considered as lawlessness.

Regulating was early practiced in North Carolina, ^^

The purpose was at first that of "regulating public grievances

and abuses of power", and especially to resist extortionate

exactions of government officials. Their chief method of

pvmishing was by whipping. Not unlike later developments of

"summary justice" however the "regulating spirit" spread, so

that four or five years after the first recorded instances

of "regulating" we find lawlessness in the extreme. In

September, 1770, an attack was made upon superior court in

session at Hillsboro, by about 150 Regulators. Several men

who had incvirred their enmity received a severe whipping, and

28, Cutler, op. cit, p, 46,

29. C"f. H. Williamson: History of North Carolina (1812) II,

S6^-3; 270-1.
J. H. V^-heeler: History of North Carolina, (1851) ii, 306,

«•/■ r*

considerable property v/as destroyed. The leaders were later
arrested. This broiight on more trouble between the law and
the lawless, so that in 1771 Governor Tyson had to call out
the militia. After a battle in which each side lost several
men the Regulators were defeated and their organization broken
up. At least for the time being, and forever so far as the
"Regulators" were concerned, the law had won!»

CHAPTER III

BORDER LYNCHING AND ANTI-SLAVERY AGITATION

The frontier variety of lynching may he said to
have originated in South Carolina,^ Before 1769 there were
no courts of criminal and civil jurisdiction except "that
which v/as holden in Charles- tov/n." As early as 1752 a need
for better court procedure v/as felt,^ Failure to comprehend
the real nature of "border conditions, and thereby ignoring
this need, resulted in a decided opposition betv/een the
frontiersmen and the Government, According to private corre-
spondence, and to the South Carolina Gazette"^ "Regulation"
in the case of horse theives and robbers seems to have become
a regular and necessary practice by the year 1767 in the
section around Pine Tree Hill,^ The outlaws are referred to
as "The gang of Villains from. Virginia and North Carolina" who

1, Cf. Alexander Gregg: History of the Old Chenaws (18671

cinapter Vix,

2. At this time an appeal of this nature was m.ade to the
General Assembly, Loc. cit,

3. May 26 and July 17, 1767.

4, Now Camden,

Persisted in horse-stealing, robbery and other outrages

"notwithstanding the late public examples made of several

of them."

The at present range in the Porks between Broad,
Saludy, and Savannah Rivers. Two of the gang v/ere
hanged last week at Savannah, Viz., Lundy Hart and
Obadiah Greenage, Two others, James Ferguson and
Jessie Hamberson, were killed v/hen these v;ere
taken. 5

That this was no isolated occasion is indicated by an address

of the Governor to both Houses of the Assembly on November

5, 1767. Speaking of the "unhappy situation in the Back

Parts of the Country" he said:

The means to suppress those licentious spirits
that have so lately appeared in the distant parts
of the Province, and, assuming the name of Regu-
lators, have, in defiance of Government, and to
the subversion of good order, legally tried, con-
demned, and punished many persons, require an
attentive deliberation. 6

During the following year "ne?/ irregularities" on

the part of the Regulators took place. "Seeming to despair

of rooting out those desperate villains", they proceeded

"to punish such offenders as they can catch", including "an

infamous woman" who received corporal punishment.''' In the

year 1769 seven new courts were established in the Interior,

v/lth suitable jails and courthouses. "This marked the end of

the Regulation movement in South Carolina. The condition of

ftffairs v/hich had called it into existence had ceased to

prevail and the practice of "regulating" was, therefore.

5. Gregg, op. clt. p, 154.

6. Gregg, op, clt. p. 136.

7. Gregg, op. clt. p. 138.

discontinued* 8

The practice of tarring and feathering, was
"particularly characteristic" from around 1775 when the
"Sons of Liberty" were active around Boston in stirring up
resistance to the British Government, This method of
punishment had been practiced several years before and no
doubt was knov/n by the earlier immigrants before they came
to America. H The more modern practice of stripping the
clothes from a Negro suspect who is gazed at by women un-
ashamed is not new. As an example of this and the fact that
"a mob is a mob" irrespective of time or place we quote from
the Boston Chronicle for October 26-30, 1769:

Last Saturday evening a person suspected to be an in-
former, was stripped naked, put in a Cart, where he
was first tarred, then feathered, and in this condi-
tion, carried through the principal streets of the
tov/n, follov/ed by a great concouj?se of people.

During the same year there were instances in which svimmary
pvuaishment was resorted to in other cases than those of a
political natTire,-^^ Before the outbreak of the Revolutionary
Weir tarring and feathering was common throughout the Colonies^^^
Although the "Regulators" on the South Carolina borders had
disbanded, in the year 1775 there was a "Secret Committee" in
Charleston. Eairing that year they tarred and feathered un-
popular men, of whom at least two were stripped of their

8. Cutler, op, cit, p. 37; Gregg, op. cit. p. 151-2.

9. Cutler, op. cit. note 1, p. 59,

10. Cf. Boston Evening Post, Sept, 12, 1768 (1720, p. 3); Sept,
19, 1768 (No. 1721, p. 3)

11. Cf. Hakluyt's Voyages, Vol. II, p. 21; Cutler; p. 61.

12. Cutler, pp. 67-69,

13. Cutler, pp. 68-69,

clothes and carted throtigh the streets, ■'•^ During the next
year- they burned a white man. "John Roberts, a dissenting
minister, was seized on suspicion of being an enemy to the
rights of America, when he was tarred and feathered; after
which the populace, whose fury could not be appeased, erected
a gibbet on v/liich they hanged him, and afterwards made a bon-
fire, in which Roberts, together with the gibbet, was con-
sumed to ashes. "-^^

Stumnary punishment - more than once approved by
the Legislature - seems to have been very prevalent in
Virginia from about 1779 to 1792.^^ T.^'hile evidence covering
the period from then up to 1830 is mostly limited to notes
made by travelers, there is little reason to believe that it
suddenly ceased or even diminished after 1792, E. W, Gould
gives good reasons for mob violence in the Mississippi Valley
doiring this time. Pointing out that "no country known to
civilization has been the theater and battlefield of more
tragic events and bloodc\irdling incidents than has been this
beautiful Valley of the Mississippi", he proceeds:

Succeeding the treachery and massacres from the In-
dians and the bloody battles that so often followed,
encoviraged by the French and English authorities,
came The OUTLAW, THE PIRATE, THE ESCAPED COIWICT, and
the DESPERATE HIGffiVAYi^AN from all parts of the world.

So vital a part of the background for later lawless-
ness in this section, it seems justifiable to dwell at length on

14. John Drayton: kemoirs of the American Revolution (182li,
I, 273-274. Frank Moore: Diary of the Revolution (1875)
pp. 90-91, Edward McCrady: South Carolina in the Revolu-
tion (1175-1780) (1901), p. 2T.

15. Frank Moore: Diary of the Revolution (1875) p. 359.

16. Cutler pp. 71-76.

cJl

this situation which inevitably led to extra-legal punish-
ment. The case quoted below is only one of several, or
possibly many, that could be quoted from the literature of
the period between 1800 and 1830, We may well suppose that
in the secrets of eternity are many others.

The Crowds Nest

In the year 1809 'Island number 94', or Stack
Island, or, as it is sometimes called, 'Crov/»s Nest', 170
miles above Natchez, was notorious for many years as a
den for the rendezvous of horse thieves, counterfeiters,
robbers and murderers. It v/as a small island in the middle
of «Nine Mile Reach*. Prom thence they would sally forth,
stop passing boats, murder the crew, or, if this seemed
impracticable, would buy their horses, flotir, whiskey,
etc., and pay for them.

Their villanies became notorious, and several years
pursuit by the civil officers of the lav/ failed to pro-
duce any result in the way of punishment or eradication.
But they were at length made to disappear by the appli-
cation of lynch law, from several keel boat crews. The
full history of this affair has never been ixnfolded, and
perhaps never will be. But for terrible retribution and
complete annihilation outside of any authorized decrees,
it never had its equal in any administration of lynch
law, the recitals of which cast so many shadov/s on the
West and South,

• fov;^.f>„

The autuirin of 1809 had been marked by many
atrocities on the part of the bandits of the "Crov/'s
Nest". Several boats and their entire crews had dis-
appeared at that point, and no traces of them could be
found afterwards. The country around, and up and down
the river, had been victimized and robbed in almost
every conceivable form by depredators, whose movements
could be traced satisfactorily toward the Crow»s nest.
At one time it occurred that several keel boats were
concentrated at the head of Nine Mile Reach, within
speaking distance of each other, being detained by
heavy contrary winds.

The crews of these boats were well informed as
to the villanies of those who harbored on the little
island a few miles belov/ them. Many of them had friends
and comrades on the boats that had been among missing
oneso By what means it was brought about, or at whose
suggestion or influence, it was never known. But one
dark night, a few hours before daylight, eighty or
ninety men from these wind-bound crafts, well armed,
descended in their small boats to the Crow's Nest and
surprised its occupants, whom they secured after a short
encounter, in which two of the boatmen were wounded and
several of the robbers killed. Nineteen men, a boy
fifteen, and two women, were thus captured. Shortly
after sunrise, the boy, on accovmt of his extreme youth,
and the two women, were allowed to depart, V/hat was the
punishment meted out to the men, whether shot or hanged.

. I

wa3 never ascertained with any degree of certainty.

None but the boy, the boatmen and the tv/o women,
however, ever left the island alive, and by tv/elve
o'clock noon, the crews were back to their boats, and,
the wind having calmed the night before, they shoved
out, and by svmset were far down the river and away
from the scene of the indisputably just, althotigh un-
lawful retribution. Two years afterward came the
terrible earthquake, which, with the floods of 1811
and »13, destroyed every vestige of the Crow's Nest,
leaving nothing of it to be seen but a low sand-bar,
and with it passed away from public sight and mind

all signs of the bandits, their crimes, and the awful

17
doom that av/aited them.

We know that the name and the practice of lynch-

law were known and experienced as far Y/est as Indiana by

18
181S, Some time prior to that date an English traveler

commented on the rapid development of society "in our new

country" and pointed out that the Americans were "anxiously

studious of mildness" In forming their laws} that only

murder "of the first degree" called for the death penalty

in any western state, and according to his belief the same

was true of all States in the nation. Due to the fact that

they had from the first been accustomed to rely on their

own powers, he continued, "they siirrender with reluctance,

17. E. W. Gould, Fifty Years on the y.lsslssippi , pp. 58-59,
Nixon- Jones Ptg. Co., St. Louis, 1889,

18, V/. Paiix, Memorable Days in America, London (1823) p. 304-5,

..1

and only by halves, their right of defense against every
aggression even to the laws which they themselves have
constituted," The v/riter pointed out that "savage and
ferocious violence" was too common to be abhorred in the
frontier states, but that such events v/ould hardly be
tolerated in a more settled state like Kentucky, to which
he proudly referred with the prediction that soon mob
violence v/ould be only a matter of history in Illinois and
Indiana,

One of the most interesting points to be gained
from Blaine's notes is that already in cases of prosecution
of those involved in extra-legal punishment, juries "knov/lng
the bad characters of the prosecutors" would give but trifling

damages, which divided among so many, amounted to next to

?1
nothing for each individual. Concerning his conversation

with some of the chief ones among the Regulators the

narrator states:

They very sensibly remarked that v/hen the country
became more thickly settled, there would no longer
be any necessity for any such proceedings, and that
they should all be delighted at being able to obtain
justice in a more formal manner. ^^

In general it may be said that the practices of

"summary justice" which the English seem to have brought

with them to America, practiced in Colonial and Revolutionary

19, Indem, pp. 96-98,

20, Somev/here In this section and before 1822, the practice of
cutting off the ears of the culprit had arisen,

21, Loc, cit. Although lawlessness in the form of extra-legal
punishment was considered a necessity these men v/ere con-
sistent in that they fined one another. This has not al-
ways been the case since that day,

22, An Excursion through the U. 3. and Canada, 1822-23.
London 1824, pp, 233,6,

times, were then carried westward during the half century
after the Revolution where they persisted by necessity and
possibly grev; somewhat harsh for the same reason, ^"^ At
least in some of the cases an orderly trial was held and no
mob phenomena whatever were exhibited. According to Cutler's
discussion of the subject it would appear, indeed, that there
was generally more order in the extra-legal punishment on the
border than in Nev/ England, and later in the other seaboard
Provinces, v/here the necessity for such practices was certain-
ly less tirgent, '

The subsequent history of lynch- lav/ in the West is
a story of the working out of the principle early set forth
by the Virginia Legislatxire when it declared that, under
peculiar circumstances such as are often met when established
law is weak, measures not strictly warranted by law may be
justifiable from the immanence of the danger involved. We
shall review more reasons ,jtill why this principle was the
natviral and often the necessary salvation of the pioneers
exposed to the vicissitudes of frontier life. First, hov/ever,
we turn attention to a different and very important aspect
of the history of lynch-lav/ in America,

Anti-Slavery Agitation

In the East, as we have noted, svramary practices,
although not confined within the limits of political troubles,

^^0 If a thief refused to quit the coirmunity after a v;hipping

he was whipped again and his ears cut off, Blaine, pp. 233-6,
24, Cutler, op, cit. Chapter III,

j>S

.. r_-

ki'ii

seem largely to have grown out of then. After the Revo-
lution there was little excuse for, and little evidence of,
svunmary punishment in this section. In the more southern
states, however, the frontier gave away slowly. The popu-
lation spread out faster than it increased, so that well-
organized and thickly populated communities - unattractive
to depredators - v/ere more slov/ to develop. Almost before
"regulation" had ceased and while lynching was a part of the
culttire-complex in these regions, anti-slavery agitation
began. Thus while lynch-lav; was moving westward, and before
it had been forgotten on the seaboard, there arose an occasion
for its revival. This revival was characterized by less
reasoning and more emotionality - and, therefore, more heed-
less and severe pixnishments. In September 1831, in North

Carolina, "three ring leaders of the late diabolical con-

fi 25
spiracy v/ere executed at Onslow Court House ,■ The editor

of the Liberator, as subsequent history indicates, was doubt-
less justified in the follov/ing comment: "^Executed by the
people*, doubtless means executed by a mob, on suspicion of
guilt, without investigation or trial," That emotionality
often had the upper hand - and that such being frequently
the case in the South today is not altogether modern - is
indicated by the follov/ing incidents:

John Lamb of Georgia, in 1831, subscribed for
Garrison's anti- slavery paper. He v/as violently taken from
his house, tarred and feathered; then oil was poured on his

25, Liberator, Nobem.ber 5, 1831, Vol, I, p. 180,

head and set on fire, after which he was ducked in the

Pfi
river and later whipped at a post,

the

In Petersburg, Virginia, a man was "lashed on/bare
back" for saying, "that black men have, in the abstract, a
right to their freedom," He was ordered to leave never to
return under threat of being treated "v/orser".

During this same memorable year the paranoid

Negro preacher, Nat Turner, who had several years earlier

decided to "call the attention of the civilized world to the

conditions of his race", on a Stmday night, August 21, opened

his fajnous insurrection. About sixty whites, men, v/omen and

children, were slaughtered by this erratic but sincere Negro

and his follov/ers, A letter to President Jackson from a

committee of citizens of Southampton, dated August 29, gives

some conception of hov/ the incident spread both fear and

horror among the white people: ^°

...So inhuman has been the butchery, so indis-
criminate the carnage, that the tomahawk and
scalping knife have now no horrors. Along
the road traveled by our rebellious blacks,
comprising a distance of something like twenty-
seven miles, no white sovil lives to tell how
fiend-like was their purpose,. , The excitement
is so great that were the justices to pronounce
a slave innocent, v/e fear a mob would be the
consequence.

Many of the slaves who had rebelled, as v/ell as

some who were Innocent, were shot on sight. The heads of some

of them were left up on poles for weeks as a dreadful warning

26, Liberator, Oct. 1, 1551 (1;15V),

27, Liberator, Oct. 29, 1831 (1:174); Cutler, op. cit. p. 92,

28, Quoted by W. S, Drewry, Slave Insurrections in Virginia,

p. 84,

OvS

to others who might contemplate rebellion. A negro woman
who had attempted to kill a white woman was lynched. Ac-
cording to Cutler, "It is said that some of the slaves
suffered fearful torture, being burnt with red-hot irons
and their bodies being horribly mutilated, before death
came to their relief," Ttirner was tortured with pin-pricks,
soundly whipped, and put in jail to await trial. Fifty-
three negroes connected with the massacre were tried by the
courts. Twenty of them were released, tv/elve were transport-
ed, and seventeen executed. Turner and his associate-leaders
were tried again in Superior Court, Turner and two others
were executed. With one exception, all of those who were
executed v/ere btiried in a "decent and becoming manner". The
body of Nat Turner was delivered to the doctors, "who
skinned it and made grease of the flesh."

Possibly the total influence of this insurrection
cannot yet be written. The general effect was to center
attention on the slave question. To the North it brought a
more pronounced conviction than ever as to the evils of
slavery. To the South it brought intense excitement and fear.
New plots were believed to exist in North Carolina. A rumor
was spread, and for a while accepted, to the effect that
Wilmington had been burned, half the inhabitants killed, and
that "the negroes of several counties were on the march for

■^•^^ Cutler, op. cit, p. 95, l-felvlaster. History of the People
of the United States, Vol. VI, states that 55 white per-
sons were killed, and, concerning the negroes, "A hundred
are said to have been shot, 19 executed, p. 74,

,r,2f.

^^S

Raleigh," Likewise, without the least foundation, a
"plot" was discovered in Deleware and Maryland, While there
is no evidence that Turner or any of his followers ever aaw
a copy of the "liberator". Garrison and his publication were
credited with instigating the massacre. Sharp debates over
the question of slavery became more frequent; and prejudice
against negroes, slave and free, grev/ more intense. For-
getting important parts of the Constitution, some "gentlemen
of the first respectability" at Columbia, South Carolina,
formed themselves into a "Vigilance Association" and offered
a rev/ard of fifteen hundred dollars "for the conviction of
any white person found circulating the Liberator, Walker* a
Appeal, or any other publication of seditious tendency,"

In North Carolina the Grand Jiiry brought an in-
dictment against Garrison "for the circulation and publication
of the 'Liberator' in the county in contravention to the act
of the last General Assembly," According to a law of Georgia,
a five thousand dollar reward was offered for the conviction

of any one concerned with the circulation of "seditious"

literature. The Governor of Virginia credited the Nat

Turner insurrection, "and the plots discovered elsewhere,"
to the "fanatics of some of our neighboring states", and call-
ed for a revision of the laws "intended to preserve in due

Z6m McMaster, loc, cit. p, 74, "*""

31, United States Gazette, Oct, 12. 1831; McMaster, op. cit. 15,

32, Laws of Georgia, 1831, p. 255, Act approved on December
15, 1831,

IS.

» •

subordination the slave population of our State," An act
providing for the removal of free negroes was passed by the
legislature. Pressure was brought to bear upon the officials
of the states in which "incendiary literature" was being
issued to stop it, A sharp cleavage between the pro and the
anti slavery factions was drawn in the East, where negroes
were treated with contempt. In Boston some of the Christian
people were so overcome with rece prejudice that they expell-
ed colored members from their churches, "^^ Thus along with
the growing resentment between the two sections of the
co^^ntry, prejudice became more general in both,"^"*

The term "lynch-law" nov/ came into general use,
and the practice spread far and wide. In the older states
it was administered first to abolitionists, and then - true
to the nature of mob violence - it spread out tmtil a stranger,
for some offence "unknov/n to the inhabitants was tarred and

feathered in true Yankee style, marched out of town and let

35
run," At the same time out on the borders from Vlcksburg

to St. Louis, gamblers and robbers were being treated to

lynch-law. A whipping with orders to move on generally made

up the sentence. In Vicksbvtrg, in 1835, a group of gamblers

refused to obey orders to quit the town. This resulted in

an attack upon the gamblers in which a highly respected

'3S. McMaater, op, cit. pp. 76-79.

54, Chapter VIII gives some conception of how race prejudice in

the South has persisted, being often the reason given for a

lynching episode,
35<. Q^oted by Cutler from the Liberator, Sept. 27, 1834.

— ~e

citizen of the town was killed. Five of the gamblers were
taken to the common gallows and hanged, their bodies being
left suspended for twenty-four hours. About this time an
Insurrection in Madison County, Ivlississippi, was suspected.
As a result five white men and several negroes, "some ten
or fifteen" were hanged without due process of law. In
connection with the border conditions and methods of punish-
ment, Ingraham makes a significant statement. In discussing
the habit of the people "of improving upon the courts by
taking the laws into their own hands," he says: "The want
of a penitentiary ha^ had a tendency to keep this custom
alive in this state longer than it would otherwise have
existed. When an individual is guilty of any offence, which
renders him amenable to the laws, he must either be acquitted
altogether or suffer death. At this time eleven crimes
were punishable by death in Mississippi,

In May, 1835, two negroes murdered two children
in Mobile, Alabama, "with such peculiar circiimstances of
barbarity" that, althovigh a trial was given them in which
"the Court pronounced the only sentence known to the law"
they were immediately afterward burned. The Implication is
that they had committed rape, "They were seized, taken to
the place where they had perpetrated the act, and burned to
death, "38

In April of the next year a free mulatto killed
a Deputy Sheriff in St, Louis, Missouri, while resisting

915, J, H. Ingraham, The South-West, Vol. II, pp. 185-187,

37. Cutler, op. cit. p. 101<,

38. Liberator, July 4, 1835, (5:108); Cutler, p. 108,

arrest for helping a prisoner to escape. He was captured,
locked in jail, and later taken from the jail by a mob who
had threatened to tear it down if the officers did not
give the mulatto up. He was conducted to the outskirts of
the city by the "congregated thousands, seized upon and
impelled by that mysterious, metaphysical, and almost elec-
tric phrenzy," With a chain around his neck he was fasten-
ed to a tree a few feet from the groxind. There he was
"roasted alive". ^^ It became the duty of Judge Lawless -
according to subsequent criticisms not incorrectly named -
to bring the case of the burning before the Grand Jury, At
that time he laid down a doctrine as old as Napoleon and one
which functioned in countless instances since his day. Law-
less said that a crime which if committed by one or two
persons might properly bring the death sentence, could be
perpetrated by a mob with impunity as an act "beyond the
reach of human law," Attempts to curb the freedom of the
press were no longer reserved for anti-slavery literatvire;
an editor T;ho criticised the doctrine of Lawless had his
printing office demolished, 40

The St, Louis case is supposed to have been the
occasion for Lincoln's oft-quoted speech on "The Perpetuation
of our Political Institutions" in v/hich he gave an account
of the general conditions of lawlessness over the whole

39. Nlles Register, June 4, 1836, ^ 50: 234 J.

40, After this the editor turned strongly an ti- slavery in
attitude. For refusing to stop his publication which he
had again set up in Alton, Illinois, he was killed on
the night of November 7, 1837, after his press had three
times been destroyed by mobs.

f--, .1 r:

C^.f.

. i'

country, and expressed a fear that mob violence would

destroy the government. After a long resume in which he

dwelled especially upon the Mississippi and the St, Louis

cases, Lincoln concluded:^

Such are the effects of mob law, and such are the
scenes becoming more and more frequent in this
land so lately famed for love of law and order,
and the stories of which have even nov/ grown too
familiar to attract anything more than an idle
remark.

Although it was not specifically confined to any
section, nor inflicted for any particulsu? offense to the
exclusion of others, by 1840 lynch-law was gradually becoming
more characteristic of the South and West. In many parts of
the latter the law was yet unable to care for the public
order, so that thieves, gamblers and desperadoes were "lynch-
ed",*^ In older communities, on the other hand, in the South
and in parts of the 'West, lynch-law was resorted to in cases
where there was strong feeling that the cotirts had not in-
flicted p\inlshment in keeping with the crime; or, in cases

"when from excitement the majority will not wait for the law

II 43
to act, but inflict punishment vi/ith their own hands.

Thus, whereasonce lynch-law v/as practiced on the
border settlements as a temporary method of suppressing law-
lessness until civil regulations could be Effected, it had
now turned upon the law which it proposed to protect. This
was not always without legal penalty. In Brownsville,

41» Quoted by Cutler from Abraham Lincoln, Works, Vol, I, 9-10.
42, The term still connoted whipping, or tarring and feathering

or both. '/Vhen the death penalty was exacted, it v/as always

specifically stated.
45. F, Murryat, Diary in America, (1839) Vol, I, pp. 232-233,

■^:i v^MJi-

zs.r '.'-'■-, ti

<.^

eoft

notl

, .f->

Tennessee, in 1835, a lynch court convicted one suspected
of being a slave stealer, inflicted 500 lashes with a "cow-
skin" and branded him on the cheek. A jury In the United
States Circuit Court gave him a verdict of $2,000 and costs
against five members of the lynching party, ^ Three years
later two young men in Payette County, Tennessee, assisted
others to ride a man on a rail, during which outrage he
received fatal injuries. These gentlemen were fined fifty
dollars each and sentenced to three month's imprisonment,^^
In Yazoo, Mississippi, a man was "severely lynched' , v/here-
upon he prosecuted two of the mob in circuit court of the
county and was awarded a total of $20,000 damages, °

Between 1840 and 1850 there seems to have been an
increased tendency on the part of the people to take the law
into their own hands, ^' The occasion in the South was general-
ly one growing out of the abolition movement,, The negroes
v/ere often unmercifully flogged, and for serious crimes put to
death. Abolition propagandists from the North were frequent-
ly lynched, generally by a severe whipping, and then ordered
to depart northward. During the latter part of this decade
especially the iiVestward movement was accompanied by such out-
breaks of desperadism as to make extra-legal punishment in-
evitable.

Thus during the following decade, 1850 to 1860,
under various names. Vigilance Committees functioned in the

44. Liberator, Oct. 27, 1857, p, 174. '

45. Llberato"r, Sept, 14, 1838, p. 146,

46. Kiles Register, June 15, 1839, p. 256.

47. Of. Evans, op. cit. p. 167; Ililes Register, 66:428, 320
for lynchings in Texas and Florida,

b.&

West from the Mississippi to California, "Each new western
state, as it began to be settled, attracted thither villains
of every dye, who kept the community in constant fear until
it purged itself by the swift and sure executions of mob-
ocracy or vigilance committees, "^^ The complete story of
this decade cannot be written. In California alone, v/here,
it is true, extra-legal "justice" became most necessary,
Bancroft mentions by actual count over one thousand mxirders
and hangings for the years 1850-52.49 According to the Dis-
trict Attorney's Report there were 1200 murders between
1850-1853 in San Francisco, and one case of legal pimish-
ment,^^ In 1855 there were 538 homicides, with nine legal
executions and forty-seven "informal ones". Between 1850-
1856 there were some fourteen hundred murders in ^a.n
Francisco alone, "and only three of the murderers hung
xmder the law, and one of these was a friendless Mexican, ^^
Truly it was the Axigustan age of murder, Idaho, Montana,
Oregon, Washington, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and Nev; Mexico all
had their horse thieves, robbers, murderers, - and their
Popular Tribunals, floggings and hangings. If law is

48, Popular Tribunals, Vol, I, p« 8,

49, This large voluiae (I) is literally filled with case studies
of murder and hangings, more than one per page throughout.
It must be remembered too, that thes# T/ere gathered very
largely from San Francisco alone,

50, Bancroft, Vol, I, p. 131; Cf. New York Times, Aug, 10, 1919,
quoting from the official records,

51, Bancroft, op, cit, p, 749, After reading through tills
vol\ime one is not so inclined to disagree with the author

as near the beginning of the volume when he read the follow-
ing: "Had Herod, for the sla\ighter of the Innocents, been
brought before a San Francisco jury at that time he would
have been acquitted, Judas Iscariot amongst the California
Christians Y/ould have passed unscathed so long as any part
of his thirty silver pieces remained with him,"

"codified htunan sentiment", human sentiment in general was
at what would now he called a lov/ level in these frontier
territories. In June, 1860, in Carson City Nevada occurred
an incident that well illustrates hov/ weak was the law out
there where men who killed were many, while those who loved
Justice and order were few, A Mexican v,fas accused of
attempted robbery and murder by a German couple, a Mr. and
Mrs. Hesse, The Mexican v/as arrested and examined before
a judge, who held him to ansv/er before the court, Althoxigh
the original charges were as stated above, during the
examination the woman swore that the Mexican had made im-
proper proposals to her. Her reputation was somewhat shady,
"Yet when immediately upon the close of the examination Mrs,
Hesse drew from under her shawl her cocked pistol, and plac-
ing it against the head of the prisoner fired, causing his
instant death, neither judge, sheriff, nor the people made
any attempt to arrest her, but permitted her to return to
her home in peace, as if she had committed a meritorious
act,"^ In the year 1865 there v/ere at least one hundred
and fifty homicides, and only two legal executions. It was
with such a background as this that the later decades were
ushered in; and no better explanation of the available
statistics of the eighties and later are needed. Gold-
diggers, forest-clearers, pralrie-ploughers out beyond the
borderline of civilization do not find awaiting their
arrival lav/, sheriffs, juries and penitentiaries. Neither

Sg» Bancroft, Popular Trlb\xnals, Vol, I, p. 600,

; '..^.

do these things come suddenly after their arrival; it
takes many years, as history has shown. In 1887 Bancroft
stated as follows: "I have given in this voliime many
examples. , .but the half has not been told. It is safe to
say that thus far in the history of these Pacific States
far more has been done toward righting wrongs and administer-
ing justice outside the pale of lav/ than within it." Lynch-
law where there was no lawj lynch-law where men were left
to protect themselves or to die. All quite different from
the situation in the South during the decades under con-
sideration. Let us turn again to this section and view the
situation before the beginning of the Civil War.

During the last decade before the V/ar lynching
seems to have grown more and more common in the South.
Lynch-law was no longer reserved solely for slave ins-ur-
rectionists and abolitionists, as is shown by the follov/ing
quotation from the "Western Herald" under the caption "Lynch
Law in Virginia": "A man named William Hornbeck, living in
Lewis County, Virginia, for alleged ill-treatment of his
family was lynched by the yoiing men in the neighborhood, one
night last week, - Stripped of his clothing, rode on a rail,
m.ade to run through a briar patch, a stout paddle used to
keep him going, and a coat of tar and feathers applied. "^^
This was in 1856. In the following year there was another
instance of the degeneration of lynch-law, A great excite-
ment was caused in Barton County, Missoxirl by "a set of

55. Liberator, May 2. 1856. p. 72.

of lawless wretches" who, v/hlle pretending to be after a
horse thief, "barbarously beat several men until their
lives were despaired of, and when v/omen interf erred, some
were badly beaten and others violated. , ,."^^ By 1860 it
was not safe to be patriotic enough to "hurrah" for Lin-
coln, especially if his nane was connected v/ith the
abolitionists. For this crime two white men and a mulatto
were arrested at "Mosley Hall" North Carolina, After a
trial on the spot they were lynched by being whipped and
having their heads shaved. ^^

In 1857 a vigilance comraittee in the "upper
country" of Texas was busy "raking the country fore and
aft and sv/inging every horse thief and murderer" to be
fovmd, A traveler reported that he saw twelve bodies
suspended from one tree and five from another. 56 This
was so much of the border variety of extra-legal procedvire;
but Texas was concerned v/ith slavery, and thus at this
time had a double occasion for lynching. In the siJinmer of
1860 it is said that twenty-four "insurrectionists" v/ere
hanged,^"

A natural outcome of the continuation of the
abolition movement was an increasing frequency and severity
of punishment of the Negroes,^" Only the economic value of
the slave made him worth more hxunane consideration than the
abolitionist, for whom no punishment was considered severe

54. Liberator, Dec. 4, 1357.

55. Liberator, Dec. 31, 1860, p. 211,

56. Liberator, Oct. 2, 1857, Vol. 27:160.

57. Liberator, Aug. 24, 1B60, p. 160.

58. By the psychological process called "emotional transfer,"

enough. The "Augustan age of murder" v;as not confined to
California} it reigned at the same time in the South* Ac-
cording to an editorial in the Liberator, December 19, 1856
(p. 24): "A record of the cases of "Lynch Law* in the
southern states reveals the startling fact, that within twenty-
years, over three hundred white persons have been murdered
upon the accusation - in most cases unsupported by legal
proof- of carrying among slave-holders argvuiients addressed
expressly to their own intellects and consciences, as to the
morality and expediency of slavery," A study of the literature
of the period would hardly permit one to doubt that these
figures are overdrawn. They are probably conservative, for,
although the "Liberator" made a record of every case possible,
it is doubtless true that many lynchings by murder were not
reported.

There seems to have been a considerable amount of
crime committed by Negroes after 1830,^^ Masters, overseers,
and mistresses were murdered by slaves. During the first
decade after the beginning of the abolition movement the law
was ordinarily allowed to take its course; but as the move-
ment grew, during the next twenty years this was less and
less frequent. From 1830 to 1840 one free Negro and three
slaves were legally executed for rape; and two slaves, for
attempted rape. During the same period four Negroes were
burned at the stake, - tv/o at Mobile, Alabama for murdering

59. Cf, Cutler, op, cit, p, 124ff,

(possibly after committing rape upon) two children; the
free mulatto, Mcintosh, at St. Louis for killing an officer;
and a slave in Arkansas for murdering his master. There arc
also during the period reports of sximmary punishment, not
death, being administered to Negroes who induced white girls
to run away v/ith them, or who lived with white women, ^®
For the next decade, 1850-1860, the record is
different. Forty-six Negroes paid the death penalty for
murder. Twenty of this nximber were legally executed, and
twenty- six were killed by mobs. Two of the latter were
women, one for beating her mistress to death and the other
for poisoning her master. Eight of the remaining twenty-
four summary executions were by burning to death. For rape
and attempted rape upon white women five were legally
executed, and tv/elve were put to death by mobs. Four of
these were burned at the stake, three of whom were charged
with the double crime of rape and murder, "■*■ With the
passing of the years under the abolition movement matters
became worse generally, Negroes committed more crimes; and
the whites, goaded by the abolitionist even more than by
the negroes' crimes, tended more and more to tighten the
reins on the slave; - to make his life unbearable, yet to
lynch him if he did not bear it silently. The general
situation in the slave states at the beginning of the Civil
War is possibly fairly well described by the following letter,

60, Cutler, loc. cit. p. 126, This was quite different from
post-Civil vVar and Twentieth Century treatment of negroes
in the South v/ho "cross the color line",

61. Evans, op, cit. p. 157; Cutler, op, cit. pp. 126-127,

.IB

dated August 23, 1860, Houston, Texas, and written to a

friend in Hartford, Connecticut:

Tell your abolition friends to go on and soon
they v/ill have the pleasure of seeing the negro
reduced to such a state of hopeless bondage that
they may well pity them, I solemnly declare that
today the negro is not as free as he was tv/o or
five years ago; and v/hy? Simply because his mas-
ter has been goaded to desperation by incendiary
acts and speeches, Nov/ he fears the negro, and
binds him dovm as you v/ould a savage animal,.,.
And so it is all over the country. Men are hung
every day by the decision of planters, lawyers
judges, and ministers. It is not hot impetuous
act, but cool, stern justice. It is the saving
of wife and daughter, mother and sister from the
hand of desecration. It is the stopping of scenes
that would make the Druses and T^l^ks blush with
shame, ^^

That this fear of the Negro was largely if not

wholly unnecessary is indicated by subsequent history. The

Negro had been drilled to obey his master; he knew little

else and rebelled only when led, or at least influenced, by

others. So generally was this true that during the entire

period of the Civil War there is no record of a slave who

attempted a rebellion, or who committed a crime against a

white woman, ^'5 The records are silent as to the southern

white man who feared going to war and leaving his wife and

children with the slaves. During all those years they

worked on and on feeding the army whose victory v/ould have

6S. Quoted in the Liberator, Sept, 14, 1860, (30:146); and
by Cutler, op. clt. pp, 121-122,

63. Cf. Fleming, op. cit. Vol. I, p. 257; George R. Y/illiams,
History of the iimerican Negro, Vol, II, p, 414; M, L,
Avary, Dixie After the ',Var7 "p. 385, After a careful
search the v/riter has been unable to find, even among the
most rabid of the Negro's enemies, a single accuser in so
far as this period is concerned. Doubtless there were a
few cases of rape during the V/ar, but the utter silence
of history on the point seems almost a mystery.

« » * ^

spelled their doom, and the v/ives and children of the men
v/ho"^ held them in bondage. But before this test came, the
minds of many of the Aliites of the South against the Negro
as to afford an unpromising beginning for the long, perilous
process of readjustment necessitated by its outcomco

CHAPTER IV
MOB VIOLENCE AKD RECONSTRUCTION

Reconstruction in the South is a long story, the
more fully told the more enlightening on subsequent race
relations. In this chapter we can do no more than give a
general summary of the most salient factors of the period
Yfhich had their bearing upon these relationships, Hov/ever
honestly many Americans thought the Civil War would solve
the race problem, it really created it. There was no "race
problem" as we know it before emancipation. The two races
lived side by side in an almost perfect state of accommo-
dation under the master-slave regime. This condition of
adjustment had taken long years. Now suddenly came a change
in status, from master-slave to man-man, A readjustment on
this basis would have been long and difficult enough under
the best of conditions. Just how long and difficult we
shall never know, for such conditions were not present or
forth- coming.

The South had failed in its attempt to set up a
new Government. Civil law was only partially and imperfectly

re-established. The "carpet-bagger" - as imich a disgrace to
the North as an irritant to the South - swarmed hither, with
two results not fully to be measured as yet. First there
was naturally a continuation and intensifying of the misunder-
standings and hostility between the whites of the two sections,
It is probable that the North had more friends in the South
during the worst of the War than for many years af terv/ards,-^
Many of the "low- whites" were for the North and against
slavery, in the abstract, but they v-ere more hostile to Negro
soldiers, policeman, and congressman than were their former
masters. They had always hated Negroes; now they hated them
more, 2 They were against slavery because they were against
the masters, and not because they liked or pitied the slaves.
It was their understanding that the latter v/ould be sent out
of the country and not to Congress,*-^

Secondly, there was a renev/ed and intensified
fear of the Negro, v/hich resulted in greater hostility
tov/ard him. The carpet-bagger" was not wholly responsible
for this. It was also due to the unv/ise and inefficient
Reconstruction policy of the Federal Congress, In response
to southern laws that v/ould practically have re-enslaved
the Negro, the Freedman's Bureau was established and the
best citizens of the South v/ere disfranchised and disarmed,^

1, ^f . W, L, Fleming, Documentary History of Reconstruction,

Vol. II, pp. 369-71).

2, Senate Report on Labor and Capital, Testimony, Vol. IV,

(1883) p. 38,

3, Fleming, loc, cit. Vol. II, pp. 273,334, 337.
Cf. M. S. Evans, op. cit, p. 47,

4, Fleming, Vol. I, p. 90; Coutler, The Civil War and Read-
justment in Kentucky, pp. 442ff.

Negro troops were stationed in South Carolina, Louisiana,
Mississippi and Alabama.^ Negro militia regiments were
organized in North and South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi,
Louisiana and Arkansas, and the "Radical" white militia in
North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas proved even more
objectionable.^ In Alabama "the Negro population was very-
dense and Military posts were established at intervals of
20 to 30 miles. ""7 In South Carolina in 1870 there v/ere
fourteen thousand militia organized into fourteen regiments
of one thousand Negroes each.^

The Freednien's Bureau

The need for the Freedmen's Bureau cannot be dis-
puted; the good it accomplished, however, was soon forgotten,
possibly but not necessarily because of the harm it did, 9
For it would have been objectionable under any circumstances;
it was outside "interference" - the thing which the Southern
man had fought against, 10 The occasion for the creation of
the Bureau was the very evident intention of the Southern
Legislatures to make the Negro a slave again. The most
stringent lav/s had been enacted against the ex-slave before

5, Fleming, Vol. I, pp. 47-49,

6, Fleming, Vol. II, p. 34.

7, Fleming, op. cit. Vol. I, p. 443,

8, Fleming, op. cit. Vol. II, p. 76; Cf. Senate Doc. No. 39
the Congress, 1 session, p. 21, Schiirz's report to the
President on Southern labor conditions,

9, "As soon as the Freedmen's Bureau v/as organized, it fed
to the limit of its supplies the needy whites as well

as the Blacks." ihis has apparently been forgotten by many,

10, Cf. Garner, Reconstruction in i/Iississippi, pp. 261, 265,

the end of 1865. H Some of these laws were absolutely
impossible to comply with, and meant inevitable re-enslave-
ment of the Negroes. 12 in South Carolina, for example, -
and laws passed by other southern states, besides Louisiana,
were of the same nature, - an ordinance was passed stating
that "no person of color shall pursue the practice, art, or
business of an artisan, mechanic, or shop-keeper, or any
other trade or employment beside that of husbandry, or that
of a servant under contract for labor, until he shall have
obtained a license from the judge of the county court,
which license shall be for one year only." License fees,
applicable to Negroes only, ranged from fifty dollars to
five hundred dollars. According to a bill introduced into
the Legislature of Louisiana, every freed manandv/oman must,
within twenty days, provide themselves with a comfortable
home and visible means of subsistence. Any colored persons
failing to comply with the Act were to be arrested by the
sheriff or constable and hired out to the highest bidder for
the remainder of the year.

If the Freedraen's Bureau answered a need for the
protection of the Negro in the community in which it v/as
located, at the same time, and partially because it attempted
to protect the Negro, it became a source of irritation and
trouble. ^'5 It is true that some few of the branches of the

11, Cf. Fleming, The Sequel to Appomattox, pp. 93-97,

12, Gf. Evans, op, cit. pp. 50ff,"

13, Cf, Garner, op, cit. p. 265,

Bureau did not meet with resistance, but these v/ere ex-
ceptional. The popularity, - or unpopularity - outside of
the natural disfavor resulting from its being an "outside
Invasion", depended very largely upon the Individual officers
in charge, -^"^ It has often been said that there may have
been an honest man connected with the Freedaian's Bureau, but
that he was never discovered. This is too broad a state-
ment, but it is largely true. There v/as, on the other hand,
doubtless some basis for the report of an official in

Louisiana who declared that the v/hites would exterminate

1 "^
the negroes if the Bureau were removed, •^'^

This was certainly not the case in all sections

of the South, The following is an account given by Coulter

of how, in one case, readjustment was made without help or

interference. In 1868 the negroes of Fayette County,

Kentucky,

.♦held a meeting v/here they made it plain that they

stood ready to enter into ( labor j contracts v/ith

farmers, "for v/e have been raised to work, and

it don't go hard v/ith us." They told their former

masters that God had blessed them "with strong arms to

till your fields, and if you will give us work to

make a living, we will make Fayette a blessing," They

appointed one of their number to be a labor agent

14, Cf. Barner, loc. cit. p. 268,

15, Fleming, The Sequel to Appomattox, p. 112,

,r.

.^j.

through v/hom they should receive jobs from the white
people looking for laborers. Many blacks willing
to work were present at the meeting, and all adjottrn-
ed "with the understanding, that if there was any
fault found this year, it shall not be on the part
of the colored men". .,« These negroes set August 20,
1869 as a day of thanksgiving for the good treat-
ment they had received at the hands of the whites..,.
They stated that "the colored men have labored
better, and farmers have treated us better, and
God has blessed them all better". .. .the whites
reciprocated this feeling of friendship and co-
operation. ♦ ..The hand of the Preedinen«s Bureau had
not entered into these proceedings, and this ex-
plains largely the good relationships that were
growing up. Without the meddling of the Bvireau and
with a more reasonable attitude on the part of the
white people to changed conditions, almost complete
understanding and accord must have grown up between
whites and blacks. ^^

Thus we see an example of readjustment in which
the Bureau played no part. Three points deserve note:
The v/illingness of the Negro to work for the YJhite; second-
ly, the sympathetic attitude and cooperation on the part

■ 16. ^oted from Coulter, op. cit. pp. 346-347. Taken from
the following sources: Lexington (Kg) Observer and Re-
porter, Dec. 26 and 30, 1868; July 17 and Aug. 14, IbbiJ;
V/eekly Commonwealth, February 18, 1870,

1 « * «

of the v/hites; thirdly, the absence of the Preednen's
Bureau, Unfortunately, in a great many sections of states
fiorther South the first two conditions were not present,
and, as a result, the third was present. In nxinerous in-
stances the Negroes moved to town and refused to v/ork.
Some went to politics; and others, into other popular
criminal professions of the tirae,^*^

Many Negroes, freed from the tradition of two
hundred and fifty years of slavery, took a
holiday; some resolved not to work any more as
long as they lived, and some even appropriated
to their own use the produce of their neighbors.

At the same time many of the white men were

difficult to deal with. They preferred to re-enslave the

Negroes rather than to pay them a fair salary and treat

them as "hired hands" on the place, ■."j'hat Coulter relates

concerning a county just across from Fayette, in Kentuclcy,

was much more true of other sections:

But the blame was not all on one side, A Shelby
County farmer was franic to state (in 1870) that
the farmers of the State showed a too "stubborn
indispositin to accept their present situation",
and the "prejudice of previous habits." (p. 347),

Dr. Fleming points out that especially in Texas

and Florida the Freedraan's Bureau proved very obnoxious, due

largely to general official incompetence and discrimination

in favor of the Negroes. 18 in Virginia it was said that

there seemed to be no trouble except v/here the Bureau was

in operation. 19 An authority on the history of Recon-

17, Benjamin Brawley, Social Hi's'to'ry of the American Negro,

pp. 262-263.

18, Documentary History of Reconstruction, Vol. I, p. 363.

19, Fleming, ftocumentary History, etc., Vol. I, p. 365.

struction summarizes the activities of the Freedmen's

Bxireau as follows :^'^

It failed to exert a permanently wholesome influence
because its lesser agents were not held to strict
accountability by their superiors. Under these
agents the alienation of the two races began, and
the ill feelings then aroused were destined to
persist into a long troubled future.

Politics and Negro Soldiers

Political affairs soon fell into the hands of the
"carpet-baggers", Negroes and "scalawags", Alabama, Georgia,
Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina were
represented in part by Negroes in the National House of
Representatives. Mississippi had two Negro Senators in
Washington. All of the Southern States had Negro members
of both branches of the Legislature. In 1872 Louisiana,
Mississippi, and South Carolina had Negro Lieutenant-
governors,

It is doubtless true that these Negro politicians
were little less competent than some of the 'Miites elected
along with them: They could hardly have been more hated
than were the "carpet-baggers"." In the Legislature of
South Carolina, in the year 1868, there were one hundred
fifty-five members, ninety-alght Negroes and sixty-seven

20. Fleming, The Sequel to Appomattox, p. 117.

21, Cf. J. S. Reynolds, Reconstruction in South Carolina, p. 90,

Whites. Twenty-two of the group could not read and write;
several could not write more than their names; forty-one
signed by an X raark.^^ A South Carolina carpet-bagger,
Leslie, from Massachusetts v/as asked a question concerning
the reports that the State was paying for a Negro brothel
located Just opposite the State House, His reply was:
"South Carolina has no right to be a state unless she can
support her statesmen."

Negro Soldiers

The presence of Negro soldiers and militia proved
especially Irritating to the Southerners, Fleming points
out that without exception the presence of Negro soldiers
was resented; that even at their best these troops v/ere
obnoxious to the southern Y/hites,23 in 1866 Governor
Sharkey of Mississippi said: "The great amount of com-
plaints originate from the localities where the negro
soldiers are stationed, "2- The presence of Negro soldiers
had a bad effect on the Negroes as well as on the v/hites.
They were a constant source of irritation to the latter; and
their presence served as a stimulus to a certain amount of
laxness on the part of the other Negroes of the com:nunity.
The literature of the period is replete v/ith evidence con-
cerning the prevalence of intense fear on the part of v/hite
women. This has formed a part of the social inheritance

22. See note under Frontispiece, Fleming, op. cit. Vol. II.

23. Fleming, The Sequel to Appomattox, p. 21.

24. Report of Joint Committee on Keconstruction, Pt. iii,
p. 134.

25
of follov/lng generations.

The following cases are cited, irrespective of the

fact that they may have been, no doubt were, the exception

rather than the rule. They constitute - along v/ith many

others that could be cited, and possibly still many more

not in print - an important part of the social background

of subsequent race relationships. Moreover, these cases

indicate that the attitudes formed at the time were not

altogether without reason. The first is taken from Myrta

Locket t Avary's Dixie After the War. We quote from pages

140-142:

The Lone Star of Texas

Entering Rosemont Cemetery, Newberry, S, C, one
perceives on a tall marble shaft "The Lone Star of Texas'
and this: 'Calvin S, Crozier, Born at Brandon, Mississippi,
August 1840, Murdered at Newberry, S. C. September 8, 1865'.

At the close of the war, there were some 99,000
Confederates in Federal prisons, whose release beginning in
May, continued throughout the siimmer. Among these was
Crozier, slender, boyish in appearance, brave, thin to
emaciation, pitifully weak and homesick. It was a far cry
to his home in sunny Galveston, but he had traversed three

25. ^f. Fleming, op. cit. Vol. I, p. 91; Vol. II, pp. 270-6;

331-2; 334; 444; Avary, op. cit. pp. 267, 377, 383, 386,

North American Rev., (1889) article by '.7. T. Parkers.

The Evolution of the Negro Soldier; J. M. Mecklin, The
Eu Klux Klan, pp. 87-887 Also, Proceedings at the Ku

Klux •Trials, Columbia, S. C. in the U. S. Circuit
Court, November Term, 1871, pp. 187, 425,

e^'

.'in

states when he fell ill in North Carolina, A Good Sainaritan
nvtrsed him, and set him on his v/ay again. At Orangeburg,
S, C, a gentleman placed two young ladies, journeying in
the same direction, under his care. To Crozier, the trust
was sacred. At Newberry, the train was derailed by ob-
structions placed on the track by negro soldiers of the 33d,
U. S. Regiment, which, under command of Colonel Trowbridge,
white, Y/as on its way from Anderson to Coliambia. Crozier got
out with others to see what was the matter. Returning, he
found the coach invaded by two half -drunk negro soldiers,
cursing and using Indecent language. He called upon them
to desist, directing their attention to the presence of
ladies. They replied that they 'didn't care a d — 1' One
attempted gross familiarities with one of the ladies.
Crozier ejected him; the second Negro Interferred; there
was a struggle in the dark; one Negro fled unhurt; the
other, with a slight cut, ran tov/ard camp, yelling: 'I'm
cut by a d-d rebel!' Black soldiers carae in a mob.

The narrative, as told on the montiment, con-
cludes: 'The infuriated soldiers seized a citizen of New-
berry, upon whom they were about to execute savage revenge,
when Crozier came promptly forward and avowed his ovm
responsibility. He v/as hurried in the night-time to the
bivouac of the regiment to which the soldiers belonged, was
kept under guard all night, was not allov/ed communication
with any citizen, was condemned to die v/ithout even the form
of a trial, and was shot to death about daylight the following

t I .. .

1 I

morning, and his body mutilated'.

He had been ordered to dig his own grave, but
refused, A hole had been dug, he was made to kneel on its
brink, the column fired upon him, he tumbled into it, and
then the black troops jumped on it, laughing, dancing,
stamping. The only mercy shov/n him was by one huraane
negro, v/ho, eager to save his life, besought him to deny
his identity as the striker of the blow. White citizens
watched their moment, removed his remains, and gave them
Christian burial.

Military Misrule In Alabama ^^

The Negro population was very dense and Military
Posts were established at intervals of 20 or 30 miles.
There was one at Greensboro, Ala,, and the Negroes grew
Tinder its influence. Impudent beyond endurance. One day
a young man, Mr. Tom Cov/an, resented an insolent remark
made to him by a Negro passing on Lthe street. Immediately
a Yarikee officer stepped up to Mr, Cowan and slapped him
in the face. The yoxing man drev/ his pistol and killed the
officer and... hid in a little dark closet,,. In less than
30 minutes the street was filled //ith a black, surging mass
of howling Negroes, led by the Yankee soldiers, searclalng
for the young man. Two of his friends, by the dim light of
a candle in that ,. closet, shaved off his mustache, dis-

26, Qyioted from Fleming<s Bocurnentary History etc. Vol, I,
443-4. MS account by Mrs. T. I., Kennedy, (1867),

a':

guised him completely, and placing him between them,
boldly walked out into the mob, and unrecognized went
the whole length of the town to a strip of woods, where
young Cowan made his escape. The Infxirlated Negroes soon
discovered this and In retaliation they entered every
white man's house and seized every g\in and pistol thus
placing the v/hites at their mercy* They also went to
young Cowan's home - dragged his younger brother forth
and declared their intention to keep him as a hostage
and ..«. to hange him if his brother did not return..,.
In viev; of the whole tov/n, a tall gallov/s was erected
for the execution of this innocent yoxing boy. The deepest
gloom and despair settled dovm over the whole community.,,.
By chance, someone remembered having heard that General

Marsh, who was stationed at a Post about 15 miles off, was

and

a Mason, The news soon spread/ the 'Masons' of the town

dispatched to this officer, and of course, we do not know
by 7/hat means it was arranged, but if the siim of $9,000
was paid the boy would be set free. You can form no idea
of the poverty of our people after the War, but there were
some who had little hoards hid away,,,. The sum exacted
was raised and sent as quickly as possible. It was never
known for v/hat purpose it was demanded, unless it was used
to buy off Federal officers and soldiers, '-this transaction
was not generally known and promptly at the hour appointed,
the Negro mob placed a halter around the young victim's
neck - and dragged him through the streets to the fatal
place, A more pathetic spectacle was never witnessed than

that of the grey-haired father, walking by his son,
exhorting him 'To die like a man'. Just as the lad was
ascending the scaffold, the reprieve arrived, in the
shape of an order from General Marsh forbidding the
execution,

Negro Soldiers and "."/hite Girl

In his "introduction" to Mrs, Avary's volume,
C. A. Evans says: "In these pages she renders a public
service. She aids the American to a better understanding
of his country's past and clearer concept of its present,"
The author claims that most of the incidents related came
from first-hand; that is, they were received from observers
and participants of these incidents. The truth of Mr, Evans
statement does not depend upon the absolute truth of what
is related. However rare and exceptional, or even if
absolutely untrue at the so\irce, - which it seems reason-
able to doubt - yet by the simple process of verbal condi-
tioning they have played their part in shaping the history
of the South since the Civil War, ^Vom many that could be
cited, we quote the following: (p. 267).

^ congregation In another country church was thrown
into panic by balls crushing through boards and windows;
a girl of fourteen was killed instantly. Black troops
swung by, singing. Into a dwelling a squad of blacks
marched, bound the owner, a prominent aged citizen,
pillaged his house, and then before his eyes, bound
his maiden daughter and proceeded to fight among them-

selves for her possession. ^Though', related my
informant with sharp realism, 'her neck and face
had been slobbered over, she stood quietly watching
the conflict. At last, the victor came to her,
caixght her in his arms and started into an adjoin-
ing room, when he wavered and fell, she with him;
she had driven a knife, of which she had in some
way possessed herself, into his heart. The others
rushed in and beat her until she, too, was lifeless.
There was no redress*.

Possibly the author is fully justified in the
statement: "Northerners, and Southerners who did not live
in that day and in black belts, can form no conception of
the conditions v/hich gave rise to the white secret societies
of which the most widely celebrated was the Ku Klux."

The Ku Klux Klan and Lawlessness

Out of the conditions desci'lbed above, social,
political, military, together with the general lawlessness
of the times, arose an organization the consideration of
which cannot be omitted by him who v/ould understand later
inter-racial relationships in the South, The Ku Klvix Klan
of the sixties has been characterized in brief as follows:
Its beginning was an accident, its grov;th a comedy, and its
death a tragedy. Beginning in 1866, in a small Tennessee
town as a source of arausesrxent for emotion- hungry young ex-
confederates, it spread over adjoining states at a phenomenal
rate.

During slavery times the movements of the Negro
were very largely curtailed, especially at night. After
emancipation many Negroes thought it un-Repuhlican not to
roam about at night. On the way to and from "Union League"
meetings, and others, many temptations arose, not all of
which v/ere overcome. And the time soon arrived when
irresponsible whites could steal v/ith certainty that the
Negro v/ould receive the credit. Petty thievery, Negro
soldiers v/ho pushed whites off the sidewalks and not in-
frequently committed v;orse crimes, carpet-baggers, Republican
domination, and Union Legaues organized into regiments of
militia: the Klan was not an organization of entertainment
only, for there was "regulating" to be donel Out of the
original fraternity of fun- seekers came the bigger organi-
zation with purposes social and political. The following
quotation from the diary of a southern man doing time in
the Federal Prison at Albany as a result of the Anti-Klan
Act, indicates the occasion, v;hich was not merely an excuse,
for the social-regulatory function of the early Klan:^

,..*War has left so many thousands of widov/s and
defenseless females on isolated plantations' that
it became one of the primary duties of the old
Klan 'to shield our women and children from the
Insolence, rapacity, and brutal passions of vile
desperadoes white and black'.

Doubtless for a while the Influence of the Klan,

so far as this aspect of its functions, was wholesome. Its

membership v/as made up of some of the leading citizens of

"27, Quoted by J. M. Mecklin, The Ku Klux Klan, p, 87-88.

. \ i.

the South, at the beginning, 28 'jVherever the Klan appear-
ed it is said that the nocturnal perambulations of the
Negroes diminished to a quite marked degree, "In many
ways", says Cutler, "there was a noticeable improvement
in a large class that had higherto been causing a great
annoyance, "29 jt seems to have been the political
regulating function that led to the degeneration of the
Klan.

Its good influence was of short duration; for
within itself were sources of weakness which made the out-
come inevitable. In its name members could v;reak private
vengeance. Non-members could do likewise. It soon came
to pass that, whether guilty or not, the Klan was charged
with practically all the disorder in the country. The
records show that this organization was far from being
altogether guiltless, 30 This is shown by the testimony
of Klan members themselves during the trials in the United
States Court after the passage of the Federal Anti-Klan
Act, Defenseless men and women, both white and black, were
whipped in great nximbers. According to this testimony in
particular the Klan in North and South Carolina seems to
have been composed largely of yo\ing men and boys, illiterate
and ignorant, who could "speak of the number of blows with
a hickory, which you inflicted at midnight upon the lacerat-
ed, bleeding back of a defenseless woman, without so much as

28« Cf . Garner, op, cit. Chapter on the Ku Klux Klan,

29, Op, cit. p. 144,

30, Mecklin, op, cit, pp, 54-55,

BSTf!

. ;y

a blush or sigh of regret. None of you seem to have the
slightest idea of, or respect for, the sacredness of the
human person. ""^^ This was in the later stage of the Klan
when the former leaders had dropped out. These later members
not only whipped; they shot Negroes; they hanged them; they
cut their throats; they whipped v;omen, white and colored;*^^
they ravished Negro v/omen, and did worse, if possible, to
at least one v/hite woman.'^S The following testimony gives
some indication of the depth to which the Klan had descended
within two years after its organization. First we give,
in an abbreviated form, the testimony of a member of the Ku
Klux Klan in the United States Circuit Court at Colximbia,
South Carolina, in 1871: (pp. 505-8).

Joined Klan in North Carolina, fall of 1867, with under-
standing that the p\irpose of the order was >to advance
the Conservative party and put down the Radical party*.
This was to be done by killing and v/hipping, and crov/d-
ing out men from the ballot boxes. First raid witness
went on was in December, 1867, Went with members to get
the Negro, Roujidtree; were going to kill him. About
fifty or seventy-five guns were fired into the windows
and cracks of his house. Then burst door down. Round-
tree was in the loft. He shot Elija Koss Sepaugh across
the breast and also hit him on the v/rist, then jtunped

31, Proceedings in the Eu Klux Trials, U. s. C. Court, (1871)
789, Judge, in lecture to young men who had entered the
plea of guilty to the charge of lawlessness.

32, Proceedings, etc, pp. 777ff,

33, Proceedings, etc. p. 508.

from the loft and was shot down. Someone of the party
walked and kicked him behind and told him '3od damn
you, go right on and show where the guns are*. »7.'hen
they kicked him I let him loose... and he dropped down
on his face*. Sepaugh's brother came up. "^eeing that
Elija Ross was shot, the brother drew a bowie knife and
walked to where the nigger had been left Xying struggl-
ing, 'Some others of them had turned him over on his
back, and in a few minutes after Sepaugh went back,
some of them came up and said that Henry Sepaugh had
cut his throat, I went back to him and seen that his
throat was cut. He was dead when we left him'.

Under indictment for violating the Federal Anti-
Klan Act, D. Lewis Jolly plead guilty, as follows:

Said that he belonged to the Limeston Klan; Banks Lyle
was Chief of the County; he has rtin away; was on a
raid to take a v/hite man out of jail in Spartanburg,
who was sentenced to be hung for killing a Negro;
also on a raid when Mary Bean was whipped; took her
out of bed Y/hipped her a little; whipped her for break-
ing the peace between a white man and wife; didn't whip
the white man; the white man's wife got the Klan to
whip her; he v/as a member of the Klan, and was one of
these big wealthy men.
Following is an abbreviation of the testimony of Harriet
Simril in the same court. Part of this may be prevarica-
tion, but other testimony, some of it by Klan members them-
selves, tends to corroborate it entirely. It gives an

indication of the political activities of the Klan: ^^
The first time they came my old man was at home;
they hollered out, 'Open the door', and he got up and
opened the door..,. and these young men walked up, and
they took my old man out after so long, and they want-
ed him to join this Democratic ticket; and, after that,
they went a piece above the house, and hit him about
five cuts v/ith the cowhide, ...They came back after the
first time, on Sunday night after my old man again,
and this second time the crov/d was bigger,
Q, Did they call for your old man?

A, Yes, sir; they called for him and I told them he
v/asn't here; then they argued me dovm, and told me
he was here; I told them no, sir, he v/asn*t here;...
They searched about a long time, and made me make up
a light; and after I got the light made up, then
they began to search again, and question me again
about the old man, and I told them I didnU know v/here
my old man had gone...

A. Well, they were spitting in my face and throwing
dirt in my eyes;... Then they made me blow up the
light again, cursing me; and after a wliile they took
me out of doors, and told me all they wanted was for
my old man to join the -i^emocratic ticket; if he joined
the Democratic ticket, they would have no more to do

'34. Proceedings, Ku Klux Klan Trials, pp. 501-502.

'>• ■■">„

with him; and after they had got me out of doors,
they dragged me into the big road, and they ravished
me out there.. three of them. .burned her house.

Flogging Proves Insufficient

Shaffer Bowens, quoted above (on page 81) testi-
fied regarding another raid:

A. Yes, he had been on one other raid, when they v/hipped
John Wright, This was in January, 1868, went to Negro
cabins, found nobody in. Saw three persons running
across the hill. They went back to v/here a woman by
the name of Skates lived in a little cabin; they knocked
the door of the cabin down. No one in. Yes it was a
white women's cabin. Do not know why they broke her
door down. Went from there about two miles to Jane
Bohelier's house. Couldn't find anybody in the house;
jerked up a planlc of the floor and there v^ere tv/o
fellov;s, John and Jake Wright, Jerked up another planlc
and there was Red John Moss, Took them up the road
about tv/o or three hundred yards from the house; m^de
them pull their clothes off. Cut twenty-five good
hickories; com:nenced whipping them. After two or
three licks Jake Wright and Moss ran, cap burst and
gun did not go off; so they got av/ay. Then tooV John
Wright, locked his arms aroujid a sapling and tied
his hands. Joe Hardin, the leader, then whipped him
severely. Then with the butt of his stick knocked
him down two or three times. Vrfhen he was satisfied

he turned him loose, made him run and shot at him as
he ran. Don't think he hit him,
Q, Where did you go next?

A, They turned and virent back to the houses; said they
hadn't got through. They was going to take that woman
out; and they had a pot of tar and lime, and was going
to pouj? her full of it. She was v/hite; Joe Harding
said he was going to have it done; went back and ordered
her out; made her lie down and held up her clothes,

(Objections)

The Court: We might as well let the people hear, and

knoT/ what things exist about us. ...

A, Made her lie dov/n and held up her clothes; then

ordered Elijah Ross Sepaugh to fetch the pot of tar

and told him to pour it in; he obeyed. ,, Poured it into

her, as much as he could; and took a paddle and rubbed

it on her,

Q, Poured it in v/here?

A, I don't like to tell Then they told me

to give her orders to leave in three days.,,, Mr. Harding
was afraid they would recognize his voice.,,1 told her
the orders. ,,,, then we scattered and went home,,,.
Evidence to the effect that the Klan degenerated into lav/less
bands of irresponsibles could be piled up. It took the
Federal government to disband the organization. In all
1250 v/ere convicted after the Act of 1870, i''or more than
a decade after the close of the V^ar there was a general v/ave
of lawlessness perhaps not equalled before in the South, and

certainly not since that time. Governor Clarke of Miss-
issippi early summarized the situation as follows: "The
terrible contest which the country has just passed has
aroused in every section the fiercest passions of the
human heart. Lawlessness seems to have culminated in the
assassination of Mr. Lincoln, "^^ It has been estimated
that 3500 persons were killed in the South during the first
year after emancipation. There were 1884 killed during the
year 1868,'^" During the ^Reconstruction Period lynching
took on the connotation of death, following the lead of the
West, A new tide of immigration had flocked to the latter
section, including a goodly portion of thieves,, robbers
and murders, many of v/hom were lynched. In the South, when
lynching by exacting the death penalty nov/ became much more
frequent than heretofore, the connotation of death was
fixed, and has so remained.

In four counties in Alabama, between April and
July, 1865, a total of 17 Negroes v;ere lynched, one of
whom was burned. Four of these were woman, "This is
only a few of the murders ccram.itted on the ... freedmen
of the above named counties" said the official in making
the report, "57 in the state of Kentucky violence became
"the expected order of the day," In 1868 a newspaper
correspondent reported from Lebanon, Kentucky, as if it

35, Quoted by J, Vv. Garner, op. clt. p. 59,

36, Figures cited by Carter Woodson, The Negro in Our History,
source not stated. Only an estimate; number unknovm,

37, Senate Document No, 2, 39th, Cong, 1st, Session,

were unusual, the following: "l am assured on the best
authority that no gentleman has been hung in this neigh-
borhood for the past fortnight," The Franklin, Ky,,
"Weekly Conmionv/ealth" of March 31, 1871, gave one hundred
fifteen instances of violence, such as shootings, hang-
ings, whippings, and jail deliveries that had been report-
ed during the period between 1867 and 1871,^^^

In conclusion Coulter says of the bands of law-
less men in Kentucky during this period: "They left a
heritage which has been a curse to the state since, a
weakened respect for state authority, Lyncliings continued
long as an outcropping of this spirit, though gradually
becoming more infrequent; and feuds grew up in the
moxintains of the eastern part of the state, spectacular
though deadly, to give the state a fame all its own,"

Increase in Proportion of Negroes Lynched

In the South there v/as an increase in the pro-
portion of Negroes to the total number lynched, thanks
partially but not wholly due to the Ku Kltuc Klan, The
desperadoes had moved on toward the Vu'est, and inter-
racial conflicts grew in number. The following facts
were revealed by an examination of the files of "The New

38, Coulter, op. cit. pp. 360-365,

York Times" for the three-year period, 1871-73: "^9 Dur-
ing this period there v/ere at least seventy-five lynch-
ings. Only twenty-six of these were in the North and V/est
combined, while forty-nine were in eight Southern states.
Of the twenty- six lynched in the North and West, twenty
were whites, four were Negroes; one, a Malay, and one an
Indian. Two v/ere charged with robbery, and two v^rith
keeping a gambling outfit; two were desperadoes, and one
a horse thief. One was charged with rape and eighteen
with murder, ^^ Three Negroes were charged with murder,
and one (in connection vdth a white man) with robbery. ^^

In the eight Southern states there were tv/enty-
one whites and tvifenty- eight Negroes lynched. Of the

wMtes, nine were charged v;ith murder, one with rape, and

charged

three with horse thievery. Of the negroes eight were/with
murder, four with rape, and two with robbery. Fourteen,

39, The cases as reported are evldelitly not complete. Cutler,
who made the examination of the files of the New York
Times, thinks this is particularly true with respect to
the figures for the '.Vest; but in the light of the Recon-
struction History considered too briefly above, and in
the light of the figxires available beginning 1882, it
would seem that these statistics are just as likely to

be incomplete for the South as for the West. The
plausibility of this statem.ent is much enhanced when
we note that no lynclaings are reported for Miss,, Texas,
Arkansas and Georgia.

40, The only case of rape was that of the Malay who was shot
and thrown overboard a ship near the coast of California
for ravishing a sick girl, eleven years old.

41, Noticeably throughout our study that the Negro has little
trouble due to "crimes against property .

TABLE OF LYNCHIKGS FOR THREE YEARS, 1871-75,
IN EIGHT SOUTHER STATES

According to the New York Times, from Cutler, pp. 151-2,

Alabama: 1 white, shot for murder.

Kentucky: 2 Negroes hung for rape, 1 white for rape, 1 Negro
hung for murder, 3 Negroes shot by masked men, 1
Negro "murdered by Ku-Klux.

Louisiana: 4 Negroes hung for murder, 3 horse thieves hung,

Maryland: 1 Negro hung for arson,

Missouri: 5 horse thieves hung, 1 Negro hung for rape

("outrage") 1 white hung for murder, 3 whites
hung for murder and robbery, 3 v/hites shot for
defending and being bondsmen of county officials
accused of peculation.

South Carolina: 2 whites shot for murder, 10 Negroes shot

and hung by Ku-Klux,

Tennessee: 2 Negroes hung for robbery and arson, 1 Negro
shot and hung for robbery and murder, 1 Negro
shot for attempted outrage, 1 Negro hung and
shot for murder, 1 white shot for mvirder of
wife.

Virginia: 1 desperado, horse thief and m.urderer hung.

Totals: 21 whites; 28 Negroes, 17 for murder, 5 rape.

or one-half the total nximher were lynched "by the Ku Klux
Klan" for unknown offenses, 42 Taking the whites and
Negroes together, we have a total of seventeen lynched
in the southern states for murder and five for rape.
Cutler points out that the majority of these cases re-
ported are of those forcibly taken from the custody of the
law, "in some instances, the jails were broken into, and
the prisoners were taken out and hanged or were killed
in the jail; in other instances, the prisoners were taken
from the officers and put to death before they could be
taken to the jail. "45 (p. 152)

This report contains two other interesting
features: First, whereas before the Civil V-ar pro-
secutions against lynchers were apt to bring a verdict,
or at least sometimes did bring a verdict in favor of
the prosecution, now the situation had changed. Al-
though a majority of the seventy-five lynched were taken
from jails and officers of the law, there were only tv^o
cases in v/hich there was any attempt to take legal action
against the lynchers. "In these two instances where
attempts were made to prosecute the lynchers", says Cut-
ler, "it does not appear that there was any measure of
success," Vife note also that one-half, or fourteen, of

42. This is interesting in that it is the beginning", so far
as we have discovered, of the practice not yet ended -
lynching for"offense unknown".

43, This aspect of the report indicates that it v/as the cases
in which officers of the lav/ -.vere involved that got into
the papers. How many others in which they too^ no part,
we shall never know.

those lynched In the eight southern states were lynched
by the Ku Klxuc, It has been said that the death of
the Klan was a tragedy, and here we come to an Indication
of the significance of the statement.

In March, 1869, the Grand Wizard of the Klan,^
declared that in view of the legislation against the
order, 45 and in view of the fact that it had largely
served its fvmction of protecting life and property;46
furthermore, as some of the members had violated positive
orders, and others outside the Klan had committed deeds
of violence in its name; therefore, in keeping with the
power that had been invested in him to decide questions
of paramount importance to the interests of the order,
he declared that the Ku Klxix Klan was dissolved and dis-
banded, *''' At this time the few respectable citizens who
remained in the Klan dropped out; but the Klan was not
dissolved. For several years afterv/ard "Ku Klxixing" went
on; in some cases by members, and no doubt in others by
non-members.

The Ku Klux Klan was an effect, a result, of
the conditions that brought it forth as a regulator of
political and social matters. It was in turn a cause of

44, lien. N.B. Forrest of i-'t. Pillow fame, lliis possibly
throY/s more light on the nature of the relations of the
Klan and the Negro,

45, In extra session, September, 1868, the legislature of
Tenn, passed a stringent anti-PIlan statute,

46, An ironical statement indeed in viev/ of the testimony
quoted above; and yet there must have been some truth
in it,

47, Cf. J. C, Lester and D, L, Wilson, Ku Klux Klan (1884),

untold lawlessness. Throughout the realm of social
phenomena effects become In turn causes. Here we have
the same vicious circle that has characterized race
relationships in the South since the days of Reconstruc-
tion: The Negro doesn't do to suit usj he hasn't the
right color and the right politics, therefore v/e lynch him
and flog him; he is inferior, therefore we do not give
him a chance at an education, a chance for improvement;
therefore he does not improve even in the qualities where
it would he possible - that is, he doesn't improve enough
that we can afford to admit his ability to do so; he can't
change his color and his past history, and we v/on't admit
his right to equal protection before the lav/ until he does
soj It was such a logic as this that came out of those
hectic days of Reconstruction and the Ku Klux Klan, and
it functions today in the minds of many southern men in a
vicious circle of cause and effect, effect and cause, to
the detriment of that harmonious adjustment of the two
races which hangs always in the distance like a mirage,
in sight, possible of attainment, but not reached.

With the regaining of political pov/er by the
southern white man during the seventies, began a new era
in southern history. The human material upon v/hich the
outcome of the new era depended was composed of four million
Negroes, lineducated, without property, largely un-moral
rather than immoral, helpless and childish; and about
eight million whites, materially ruined, "but resolute to

•^4- vt -■('.; -

rebuild society, if not on the old lines, on a basis that
meant that under no circiimstances v/ould they admit to
equality those who had been their slaves and who for a
few short years had been their rulers." The method of
summary punishment of those v/ho were, believed, or acted,
differently had been the contribution of the organization
that once meant well - the Ku Kliix Klan, Respect for law
on the part of southern white men had been weakened beyond
repair for years if not generations to come. The dis-
position to settle affairs by extra-legal methods had
been strengthened; it had become a thoroughly ingrained
trait in the culture-complex of the South; so that law-
lessness in general, and flogging and lynching in
particular, have since been characteristic of the section.

Here was the beginning of a long, slov/, upv;ard
trend toward an harmonious adjustment of tv/o racial groups
of American citizens to one another in the same physical,
economic 1 political and legal, - and, inevitably social] -
environment. The darker side of the history of this pro-
cess of adjustment of the races to one another, and
especially to the socially necessary procedures of lawp
will largely occupy oiir attention during the remainder
of this study-. Let us first turn out attention to a
statistical analysis of mob violence since 1881»

_ ' "

CHAPTER V
LYNCHINGS: A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

There are no comprehensive statistics on flosciiigs.
During the present century this form of lav/lessnes has been
a negligible factor except in the case of the modern Ku
Klux Klan. A statistical study must, therefore, be con-
fined to lynchings which, hov/evor, form the major part of
mob violence in the South.

For our first statistics of lynchings v/e are in-
debted to the Chicago Tribune which has, since 1881,
kept as accurate figures as could be obtained through the
newspapers. Holt, in 1883, and Cutler a decade later,
found that newspaper figures must be accepted in view of
the impossibility of getting personal information from
officials and others at the point of lynchings.-'-^ Through-

' Yl The subject of this organization has recently received
analytical treatment by Professor J. M. Mecklin (The
Ku Klux Klan, 1S24) .
la. George C. Holt, Lynching and Mobs ;'jnerican Journal of
Social Science, No. 32, Saratoga Papers 1894, p. 67,
Library of Congress; Cutler, LynchLaw, p. 156-157.

out this period an annual feature of the Tribune has been
the publication of a list of crimes, suicides, lynchings
and legal executions. This, as Cutler points out, "gives
at least a presvimption in favor of fulness and completeness
in the record,"

Cutler has corrected the Tribune figures up to 1904,
it seems, as accurately as it is possible to do» He careful-
ly went over the lists of names of the persons lynched as
published each year during the twenty- two year period, 1882-
1903. In a few instances he foiind errors in the totals as
listed by the Tribune. Some of these errors were due merely
to mistakes in adding up the lists; others v/ere due to a
failure to distinguish between a lynching and persons lynch-
ed. Cases in which a father and son, or five horse- thieves,
or two Negroes had been lynched v/ere found to have been count-
ed as one. During the period studied by Cutler this distinc-
tion between lynching and persons lynched was more important
than for later years in that more frequently a ntunber of per-
sons were lynched in a single mob episode. In a fev/ notable
instances in more recent years a number of persons have
perished as a result of one episode of mob action. In this
Chapter, hov/ever, we shall use the v/ord lynching to denote
a person lynched unless otherv/ise stated.

The Chicago Tribtme gives the following facts
with regard to lynchings each year: the date of the lynch-
ing, the name of the victim, his color and nationality, the
alleged crime for which he was lynched, and the town and
state v.'here the lynching occurred. In this list are in-

Tfslisq

eluded, of course, only those who have met death at the
hands of mobs. There is no account of the attempted
lynchings, or of the persons who suffered injuries as a
result of mob violence. During the past fifteen years,
however, the Department of Records and Research at Tuske-
gee Institute, Alabama, and the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People, in New York, have kept
records which include attempted lynchings as well as
those actually consumated. To these figures reference is
made in a later chapter. They are hardly worth consider-
ing in any elaborate statistical manner, for they are
doubtless more incomplete than figures on actual lynchings,
A prevented lynching is often not exciting enough to get
into the newspapers, while tills is apparently seldom
true of an actual lynching.

It must be remembered that on one point the
Tribune information is sure to be misleading: viz., the
name of the town from which a lynching was reported is
listed as the place of its occurrence. It is significant
that very few lynchings occur in towns; almost all of them
occvir in the country. This does not mean, of course, that
it is always rural people who do the lynching; often it
is not. This same inaccuracy inevitably gets into the
Tuskegee and NAACP records, but not so frequently as these
institutions give fuller details from v/hich one can more
correctly determine the exact place of a lynching. From
all available records it is possible to get figures accuj?ate

enough for purposes of statistical analysis. This does
not mean that every lynching which occurs gets into the
records of all or either of the three sources referred to
above. The statistics furnished by the NAACP and by
Tuskegee up to the time they began keeping records came
from the Tribune. Since this time there is often a slight
variance between the figures, especially those of Tuske-
gee and of the NAACP. The figures of the latter organization
and those of the Tribune are in close agreement. The Tuske-
gee figtires are more conservative for the years in 7/hich
there is a difference, due largely to a difference in the
conception of what constitutes a lynching. For example,
a posse of white men out hunting for a Negro supposed to
have committed a crime come upon this Negro, or some other
Negro, who is shot down. Tuskegee would hardly list this
as a lynching, whereas the other organizations would con-
sider this a mob murder and would list it.

For our ptirposes, therefore, it seems advisable
to use the NAACP figures, v/hich are at little variance,
after all, with those of Tuskegee. ^ The former organi-
zation's figures are themselves conservative as they do
not list a lynching unless it appeared in print, whereas
even yet in certain southern states there are a few lynch-
ings which are not reported in the newspaper s,^ Por the

2, The only year in which there is a great variation is for
1915, in which 27 Mexicans were killed in Texas by mobs.
These are not listed by Tuskegee as lynchings,

3, Besides those Negroes killed in race riots, who are not
listed as lynching victims, personal letters from both
Whites and Negroes indicate the truth of the statement
made above.

noiJaAonoo

years, 1882-1904, the corrections made by Cutler are in-
cluded in the analysis, thus somewhat increasing the
NAACP figures for those years. Due to the care v/ith
which Cutler analyzed the figures up to 1904, and with the
vast amount of material available for the period since
that time, it would seem that trustworthy deductions and
possibly valuable conclusions might be ari»ived at by a
careful analysis, to which we proceed.

Table I shows the number of persons lynched by
section and by month since 1882, The total for the South
is 3,939; for the West, 717 and for the East, 134, making
a grand total of 4,799 lynchings since 1882, ^ Graph I
shows that the curve for the East is fairly smooth, v/ith
its peak coming in June, The curve for the 7/est is more
irregular v/ith a rise in March and April, then a drop in
May and another rise in August, The curve for the South
is very irregular, running from 250 for February to the
peak at 445 for July, After a sharp drop to 331 in
September, there is a slight rise to 342 in October,
Graph II shows the total for the three sections of the
country during the period, ^The March and October rises
come from the South, and are doubtless due largely to the
fact that at these periods of the year the whites and
Negroes are in closer contact through making arrangements

4, This includes 9 lynchings, month unknown. In this Chapter
when "East" is used as a division of the country instead
of "North" v/e are, for the sake of comparison, using the
divisions as studied for the earlier period by Cutler in
v/hich he listed Missoviri as a southern state and Oklahoma
as a v/estern state.

TABLE I

LYNCHINGS BY SECTION AND BY MONTH PROM 1882 to 1928^^

Month South 7/est East Totals

January

263

332

February

253

308

March

297

.367

April

281

364

May

346

412

June

403

485

July

445

523

Aiigust

357

444

September

331

412

October

342

416

November

297

340

December

324

387

Unknown month

TOTALS

3,939

717

134

4,799

■K-Compiled from Cutler and from the NAACP files.

100

for work, and dividing the crops, respectively. The peak
comes in July, when more cases of rape and murder are alleg-
ed, and when both Negroes and v/hltes are more idle, and
thus apt to become involved in conflicts,^

Table II and Graph III show the ntimber of persons
lynched per month by section from 1900 to 1928. It will
be noted that the curves for the East and for the West dur-
ing this period are more regular, as v/ell as very low, while
that for the South is more irregular than for the whole
period for which statistics are available. The rise in
March and October is more sharp, while the top of the curve
from May to September is more even. The peak comes again in
July vd.th 180, but drops only to 179 in Avigust, and 150 in
September, with a rise to 176 for October, Table III and
Graph IV show the totals for the United States over this
period, 1900 to 1928, The drop in the curve for the '.Vest in
July and the rise of the curves for both East and West in
August result in a noticeable difference in this curve;
viz., that the peak comes in August, at 199, ten above the
July mark. In October it rises again from 166 to 183, then
drops to 148 in November, and to 116 in December, The
total lynchlngs per month for the period is 1,878, The
month in which 5 lynchlngs oc cured is not known, hence the
total of all lynchlngs recorded for the period is 1,883,
of which 1,737 occurred in the South,

101

102

GRAPH II

LYNCHINGS, BY MONTHS, IN U. S. Prom 1882-1928

I 'XBOA M3N '-00 U3SS3 T T3Jjna)l

^ ^ t 4 t

^ t u

103

TABLE II

LYNCHINGS IN THE UNITED STATES BY SECTION BY MONTH, 1900-1928''-

Month

South

West

Easi

Totals

January

118

129

February

110

114

March

140

149

April

109

123

May

166

179

June

169

183

July

180

189

Avigust

179

199

September

150

166

October

176

183

November

139

148

December

116

UnknoY/n

TOTALS

1,737

119

1,883

•K- Compiled from the NAACP files.

Cutler maintains that the above figures are in error for the
years 1900, to 1903, due to a confusing of "lynchings" and

number of persons lynched". He v/ent over the material very
carefully and as a result found that there had been 17 more
persons lynched than are shovm by the above figures. Thus
there have been, according to the correction, 1909 persons
lynched since 1900,

8I-.

104

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105

TABLE III

LYNCHINGS PER MONTH IN THE UNITED STATES, 1900 to 1928*

January

129

February

114

March

149

April

123

May

117

June

183

July

189

August

199

September

166

October

183

November

148

December

116

TOTAL

1,878 (i/Ii

1,878 (i/lonth uiilcnov/n, 5, hence 1883).

LYNCHINGS IN THE UNITIID STATES BY I.TOmES. 1900-1928,

106

GRAPH IV

Number;

300

60
40
20

U.S. :

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107

TABLE IV

NUMBER OP PERSONS LYNCHED, BY GEOGRAPHICiJL DIVISIONS AND
STATES, AND BY COLOR, 1889-1928

iection and

Division

Total
Number

TVTilte
"Other"

Per
^ent

Negro

Per
Cent

UNITED STATES

3,614

737

20.4

2,877

79.6

THE NORTH

235

121

51.9

114

48.1

New England

Maine

New Hamt) shire

Vermont

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Connecticut

Middle Atlantic

New York

Nev,' Jersey

Pennsylvania

East North Central

Ohio

Indiana

Illinois

Michigan

7\fi3Consin

West North Central

161

Minnesota

Iowa

Missouri

North Dakota

South Dakota

Nebraska

Kansas

100,0

100.0

50.0

66.6

100.0

25.0

53.3

30.7

55.0

52.0

75.0

100.

50.9

57.1

62.5

34.9

100,0

100.0

83.3

50,0

50.0

33.4

75.0

46.7

69.3

45.0

48.0

25.0

49.1

42.9

37.5

65.1

16.7

50.0

THE SOUTH 3,198 447 14.0 2,751 86.0

TABLE IV (Cont'd)

108

Total
Number

V-Tilte
"Other"

Per
Cent

Negro

Per
Gent

South Atlantic

1,016

8,5

930

91.5

Delev/are

100.

Maryland

11.7

88.3

Virginia

13.3

86.8

West Virginia

25.0

75.0

North Carolina

18.2

81.8

South Carolina

134

4.5

128

95.5

Georgia

451

6.2

423

93.8

Florida

232

8.2

213

91.8

Dlst. of Col,

East South Central

1,123

141

12.5

982

87.5

Kentucky

175

25.7

130

74.3

Tennessee

207

17.4

171

82.6

Alabama

304

11.5

269

88.5

Mississippi

437

5.7

412

94.3

West South Central

1,059

220

20.7

839

79.3

Arkansas

239

13.8

206

86.2

Louisiana

337

14.8

287

85.2

Oklahoma

104

59.6

40.4

Texas

379

19.8

304

80.2

THE -/TEST

166

j.54

92.7

7.3

Mountain
Montana
Idaho
Wyoming
Colorado
New Mexico
Arizona
Utah
Nevada

Pacific Division
Washington
Oregon
California

115

106

92.2

100.

85.3

90.0

85.7

100.

94.1

100.

75.

93.3

7.8

14.7

10.0

14.3

5.6

25.

6.4

Alaska and Unlaiovm 15 15 100. 0
(Compiled from figures provided by the N.A.A.C.P,),

109

Table IV shows the number of persons lynched by
geographical divisions, by states, and by race from 1889 to
1928. Twenty per cent of the total 3,614 lynched, or 737,
were v/hites and "other" - including Indians and Mexicans,
Thus 79.6 per cent, or 2,877 of the persons lynched during
the period were Negroes. More than 50 per cent of all
persons lynched in every division except the South v/ere
whites. In the South only 14 per cent were v/hite and 86
per cent Negroes, although more than 50 per cent of all
whites lynched were in the South, Chart I shows the
relative number of persons lynched by geographical di-
visions during the period. Of the total 3,614, there were
235 in the North, 166 in the Y/est, and 3,198 in the South.^

Table V shows the number of persons lynched by
five-year periods since 1882, by race and by sex. Of the
total 781 persons lynched between 1882-87, 490 were v/hites,
four of whom v/ere women, as compared to a total of 291
Negroes, five of whom were v/omen. In no five-year period
and in no year since that date have more whites than Negroes
been lynched. The peak of the totals comes for the period
1892-97 Y/hen 309 whites and 634 Negroes were lynched. This
is also the peak for women lynched, when eight v/hite and 18
colored v/omen thus met death. During all but two of the
five-year periods since 1882 there has been a decrease in the
number of whites lynched. This also holds true for the Negroes,

5. In Table IV and Chart I we have followed the Census method
of Divisions,

010

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From 1902-1912 there were 86 whites lynched, 43 for each
five-year period. Then in the year 1915 there was a total
of 43 white lynched, bringing the five-year total to 59,
The two exceptions noted in the general decline in the
total number of Negroes lynched comes at the half-decades
ending in 1912, and 1922. In 1919 alone 79 Negroes were
lynched, bringing the total for the period 1917-1922 up to
299. Since 1897 there have been only seven white women
lynched, while there have been 44 Negro v/omen lynched.
Durir^ 1927 there was a total of 21 lynchings, all males,
19 of whom v/ere Negroes, In the total of 4,799 we have
counted 97 for 1902 instead of 94 as listed by the NAACP
and the Chicago Tribune, Dr. Cutler went over the
material very carefully in 1903 and found that there had
been 94 lynchings but 97 persons lynched.

Graph V shov.'s the proportion of Negroes and
whites lynched for the period linder consideration. The
peak for the whites v/as reached during the first period
at 490; then there Y,ras a sharp decline to 310, ^Hiring the
next period there v/as a decline of only one, but follov/lxjg
that time came a very sharp decline to 139, then to 45
for the period 1902-1907. During 1927 only two v/hites were
lynched, one in California and one in Florida. Since the
first period the number of Negroes lynched has been higher
than that of the whites. The percentages for the different
periods are shov/n in Table V, The highest percentage of
Negroes lynched was for the period ending 1922, when 93,4
per cent of the 329 persons lynched v/ere Negroes, During

113

GRAPH V

KUMBER LYNCHED 1882-1927 BY RACE PER^IVE^YEAR PERIODS

O KE -ON 'XbOA, MSN '-00 M3SS3 V 13d

114

the forty-five years under consideration the proportion
of Negroes lynched has risen from 37,3 to 90,5 while that
of the whites has declined from 62.7 to 9.5. During this
time there has been a total of 4,799 lynchings, 3,374 of
which v/ere Negroes, or 70,5 of the total.

Graph VI shov;s the number of persons lynched in
the United States since 1882 by race and by years. The
line representing the whites reaches its peak at 211 in
1884. The top line represents the total number lynched by
years, and reaches its peak at 235 in 1892, Althoxigh there
has been a general decline since that date, the c\irves are
rather irregular throughout the period.

Graph VII shows the nxamber of whites, Negroes, and
"others" lynched in the United States since 1900. Mexicans
are considered as whites; the six represented by the "others"
line were Indians and Chinese. In 1915 a total of 43
whites, 27 of whom were Mexicans, were lynched, comprising
the only sharp irregularity in the curve. For the past
ten years relatively fev whites - a total of 40 - have been
lynched. The curve for the Negroes is very irregular. The
peak is at 108 in 1901, then comes a rather marked decline
to 59 in 1907. There is a sharp rise to 92 in 1908, which
figure has not since been equalled. Prom 48 in 1917 there
was a rise to 63 in 1918 and 79 in 1919, The lowest mark
is at 1924 when 15 Negroes were lynched. In 1926 there v/ere
26 Negro men and two Negro women lynched, and in 1927 19
Negro males v/ere lynched.

■'f

115

GRAPH VII

NUMBER OP VffllTES, NEGROES AND OTHERS LYNCHED BY YEARS 1900-1928

'^lu>wii>jtrv—

^/f

to \ X > H

5 L 1 ^ <^ /o // >% /^ /r rr /^ n ir it i*

116

Table VI and Chart II shov/ the proportion of
lynchings for various alleged crimes from 1889 to 1928,
Of the 3,614 v/hites and Negroes lynched during the period
1,354 or more than 37 per cent were charged with mtirder.
Of the whites lynched 46.6 per cent were charged with
murder as compared to 35.1 per cent of the Negroes. Six-
teen per cent of the Negroes as compared to 6.3 per cent
of the whites were accused of rape. This does not necessar-
ily mean that 477 or more Negroes have committed rape since
1889, As is indicated in Chapter VII, a Negro is frequent-
ly charged with rape or an attack upon a woman when it is
for an entirely different reason that he is lynched. It
is noticeable in this connection that for crimes against
the person other than those involving v/omen about the
same percentage of Negroes and whites are lynched. The
percentage of persons lynched for crimes against property
is high for the whites and low for the Negroes while the
reverse is true as to the crime of rape. At least a part
of this is possibly to be accounted for by the fact that
white men can no longer afford to lynch a Negro without
some excuse, and it is more and more necessary to have one
better than that the Negro villi not pay a bill, or that he
refuses to work for a consideration set by the white man.
Disputes over property accoiint for many of the murder
charges against the Negro, There are, on the other hand,

6. This table follov/s the NAaCP classification of crimes, and
is different from that used elsewhere in the study. See
Chapter VI et passim.

117

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119

"dangerous Negroes", as there are also white men who do
not hesitate to take human life, lliere are other Negroes
who are goaded to desperation and who actually commit
murder when they otherwise would not. Still others are
goaded into a fight v/ith a v/hite man and are charged with
"mtirderous assault , and thus this crime of fighting with
a white man is listed on Table VI as murder.

Lynching States and Negro Population

Turning attention to lynchings in the South, we
note that, since 1882, 3,939 or more than 82 per cent of
all lynchings have occurred in this section. Between 1889
and 1918 about 88 per cent of all lynchings in the country
occurred in the South and for the past twenty years over
90 per cent of all lynchings have occtirred in the South,
Prom 1889 to 1918 about 78 per cent of all persons lynched
in the nation were Negroes, According to Table IV, from
1889 to 1928, a total of 2,877 of the 3,614 persons lynched
were Negroes or 79.6 per cent. From 1914 to 1918, 81,2
per cent of all persons lynched were Negroes, and during
the past decade practically 95 per cent of all persons
lynched were Negroes, A total of 2,751 or 86 per cent of
all Negroes lynched have been lynched in the South. Four-
teen per cent of all persons lynched in the South since
1889 have been whites, while more than 60 per cent of all
whites lynched have been in the South. Since 1900, 70
per cent, and during the past decade 74 per cent of all
whites lynched have been in the South, Thus it Is seen

120

that in general mob violence of this type is characteris-
tically Southern, and is increasingly so with the passing
of years.

Chart III shov/s the ranlcing of the States of the
Union according to the person' lynched since 1889, The first
eleven states, with a total of 2,997, are southern. All
of these states have had more than 100 lynchings during the
period, ranging from 104 for Oklahoma to 451 for Georgia,
Virginia with 83, Maryland with 17, and Delev.rare with 1,
are the only southern states which have had less tlian 100
lynchings during the period. Of the 235 persons lynched
in the North since 1889, 121 or 51,9 per cent have been
white. Practically all (154) of the 166 persons lynched
in the '/Vest, have been whites and Mexicans, Only three
Negroes have been lynched in the Pacific Division, and
nine in the Moxmtain Division since 1900.

It has been noted that during the present Century
there has been a more marked concentration of lynchings in
the South than for the whole period for v/hich we have
statistics. Chart IV shows the rank of the southern states
in the number of persons lynched since 1900, The rank of
these states is different from that shown in Chart III.
i/?hereas Georgia ranks first for the period 1889 to 1928 it
is in the lead of Mississippi by only 14; but during the
present Century, Georgia leads all states in the number of
persons lynched and is 27 in the lead of Mississippi v/lth
266 lynchings. The whole range is from one for Delev/are to

■^%,

CHART IV

121

LYNCHINGS BY STATE IN THE SOUTH, 1900-1928
Ranking of States by Persons Lynched

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-4 cSiS SJt i£. t^ m. ZlC ■^'^O ■^^^ /-^^J »■"> fii.0 J^g OAa ^irr. ?s-n>

a<^. I

-aUL.

Xi.

/J6

ZiL2_

J^jiS-

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.^jfcfiL

122

293 for Georgia, Whereas Florida ranks eighth for the
period since 1882, during the past 28 years It ranks
fifth, with 156 lynchlngs. North Carolina has changed
its ranlc from the thirteenth to the tv/elfth, Alabama
has shifted from fifth to sixth; Arkansas from sixth to
seventh; Tennessee from seventh to eighth; and Virginia
from twelth to thirteenth. Georgia, Mississippi, Texas,
Louisana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West
Virginia, Delev/are and Maryland, rank the same for the
two periods.

Thus on the whole there has not only been a
concentration of lynchlngs in the South during the pre-
sent century but a gradual shift toward the South-east,
It is interesting to note that whereas the center of
lynchlngs is moving to the South-east the center of the
Negro population is in a different direction. Table
VII shows that since 1790 the general trend of the Negro
population has been toward the South-west. In 1790 the
center of Negro population was in Dinv/iddle County,
Virginia, and by 1880 it had moved 443 miles South-west,
to Walker County, Georgia. During each decade since
that time there has been a slight slilft in the same
direction until 1920 when the center had changed to the
North-east from Dekalb County, Alabama, back to '.Valker
County, Georgia,

Table VIII shov/s the total and the Negro population
by states, and the per cent Negro of the total population by

123

T.\BLE VII

CENTER OP THE NEGRO POPULATION: 1790, 1880-1920

Census

Year

Location of Center.
Approximate location by tOTms

Deciennial
Movement in
Miles

1790 25 miles west-southeast of Peters-
burg, Dinwiddle County, Virginia.

1880 10,4 miles east of Lafayette, in
Walker County, Georgia.

1890 15,7 miles Southv/est of Lafayette
Walker County, Georgia.

1900 10,7 miles northeast of Fort

Payne, Dekalb County, Alabama,

1910 5,4 miles north-northeast of Port
Payne, Dekalb County, Alabama,

1920 1,8 north-northeast of Rising
Fawn, Georgia,

443 miles South-
west,

20,5 miles

Southwest

9,5 miles

Southwest,

5,8 miles West-
southwest

21,5 miles North-
east,

(Negro Year Book, 1925-6, p, 441)

124

states in 1920," < Since 1880 there has been a general,
thoiigh small decline in the percentage Negro of the total
population. Taking the successive decades in order from
1880 to 1920 the Negro population formed the following
respective percentages of the total population of the
South: 1880, 36.0 per cent; 1890, 33.8 per cent; 1900,
32,3 per cent; 1910, 29.8 per cent; and in 1920, 26.9
per cent. During this time the percentage Ylhlte of the
total population for the decades was: 1880, 63,9 per cent;
1890, 65.9 per cent; 1900, 67,4 per cent; 1910, 69,9 per
cent and in 1920, 72,9 per centr] During the entire period
the percentage of "others"- Indians, Chinese, Japanese,
has been less than one-half of one per cent of the total.
The foreign born v/hite population is less in the South
than in any other section of the country. Thus the
population of the South is almost entirely made up of
"native" Americans, white and black.

Comparing the rank of the Southern States in
Table VTII with Chart III it is shovm that numerically
Georgia leads in Negro population, as v/ell as in lynchings,
v;ith Mississippi coming second, Alabama ranks third ac-
cording to Negro population. South Carolina fourth,
Louisiana fifth, Virginia sixth. North Carolina seventh,
Arkansas eighth, Tennessee ninth, and Florida tenth. Thus

7, 'i'he 1920 f^lgures are used here for the general purpose at
hand. In a later Chapter v/here more definite statistics
are treated according as they apply to particular states
and counties, population statistics for 1910 are used
along with those of 1920,

%"■-

125

it is shov/n that there is not a very close correlation
betv/een the total number of Negroes in a state and the
number of lynchings. I'his is still more noticeable when
we note the ranlc of the states according to the per cent
Negro of the total population, Mississippi ranlcs first
with 52.2 per cent Negro population. South Carolina ranlcs
second v/ith 51,4 Negro population, although this state
ranks fourth according to the total Negro population, and
tenth according to the number of persons lynched within
her borders since 1900, During this time, also, there
has been only one white man lynched in South Carolina,
Georgia ranks third according to the percentage Negro
of the total population, although first according to the
total number of Negroes, and first according to the
niomber of persons lynched, and the number of Negroes
lynched. Whereas Virginia ranks thirteenth in the number
of persons lynched since 1900, she ranks seventh in
percentage and sixth in total Negro population, "hereas
Florida ranlcs fifth according to lynchings, she ranks
sixth in percentage and tenth in total Negro population.

From the foregoing Tables and Charts it is
evident that lynchings, although largely concentrated in
the South, are not as frequent in all southern states as
in some states of other sections of the coujitry. Taking
the period from 1889 to 1928 we note tliat Virgina, North
Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland and Deleware rank lower
in the number of persons lynched than certain states of
other sections. In Y/est Virginia where 5,9 per cent of the

126

TABLE VIII

TOTAL AND NEGRO POPULATION BY STATES AND PER CENT NEGRO
POPULATION OF TOTAL IN EACH STATE IN 1920

Per cent Negro

Total popu-

Negro popu-

in total popu-

STATES

lation

NEW ENGLAND

Maine

768,014

1,310

0.2

New Hampshire

443,083

621

0.1

Vermont

352,428

572

0.2

Massachusetts

3,852,356

45,466

1.2

Rhode Island

604,397

10,036

1,7

Connecticut

1,380,631

21,046

1.5

MIDDLE ATLANTIC

New York

10,385,227

198,483

1.9

New Jersey

3,155,900

117,132

3.7

Pennsylvania

8,720,017

284,568

3.3

EAST N. CENTRAL

Ohio

5,759,394

186,187

3.2

Indiana

2,930,309

80,810

2.8

Illinois

6,485,280

182,274

2.8

Michigan

3,668,412

60,082

1.6

Wisconsin

2,632,067

5,201

0.2

WEST N. CENTRAL

Minnesota

2,387,125

8,809

0.4

Iowa

2,404,421

19,005

0.8

Missoxiri

3,404,055

178,241

5.2

North Dakota

646,872

467

0.1

South Dakota

636,547

832

0.1

Nebraska

1,296,372

13,242

1.0

Kansas

1,769,257

57,925

3.3

SOUTH ATLANTIC

Deleware

223,003

30,335

13.6

Maryland

1,449,661

244,479

16.9

District of Col.

437,579

109,966

25. If

Virginia

2,309,187

690,017

29. 9C

W. Virginia

1,463,701

86,345

5.9

North Carolina

2,559,123

663,407

29.81

South Carolina

1,683,724

864,719

51. 4 'i

Georgia

2,895,832

1,206,365

41.7:5

Florida

968,470

329,487

34.0

EAST SOUTH CENTRAL

Kentucky

2,416,630

235,938

9.8

Tennessee

2,337,885

450,758

19.2^!)

Alabmna

2,348,174

900,652

38.43

Mississippi

1,790,618

935,184

52.2/

I.O

TABLE VIII (Cont'd)

127

Per

cent Negro

Total popu-

Negro popu-

total popu-

STATES

lation

'iVEZI SOUTH CENTRAL

Arkansas

1,752,204

472,220

27,0*?

Louisiana

1,798,509

700,257

38.0/

Oklahoma

2,028,283

149,408

7.4

5exas

4,663,228

241,694

15.4

MOUNTAIN

Montana

548,889

1,658

0.3

Idaho

431,866

920

2.0

Wyoming

194,402

1,375

7.0

Colorado

939,629

11,318

1.2

Ne^Y Mexico

360,350

5,333

1.6

Arizona

334,162

8,005

2.4

Utah

449,386

1,446

0.3

Nevada

77,417

346

4.0

PACIFIC

Washington

1,356,621

6,883

0.5

Oregon

783,389

2,144

0.3

California

3,426,861

38,763

1.1

(Negro Year Book, 1925-6, p. 435)

128

total population Is Negro, there have been 17 persons lynch-
ed since 1900, fifteen of whom were Negroes, In Maryland
16.9 per cent of the total population is Negro, and yet only
seven Negroes and no whites have been lynched since 1900«

In Illinois, on the other hand, where Negroes
fvirnished only 2.8 per cent of the total population in 1920
(and it was much less before the great migration during and
immediately after the World War), there have been during
the past twenty-eight years fourteen lynchings, only two of
v/hich were whites. Illinois has long been among the first
of the non-southern states in the nvunber of lynchings.
Since 1890, ten v/hite men and fifteen Negroes have been
lynched in that State, While most of the whites were lynch-
ed for murder (5), and rape (4), the last one v/as lynched
at Collinsville, Madison Coxinty, on April 4, 1919, for
"making disloyal remarks", Negroes have been lynched in
Illinois for such crimes as "criminal abortion", and "dis-
reputable character".

Whereas nearly 14 per cent of the population of
Delev/are is Negro, there is only one lynching on record as
having occurred in that State, In 1903 a Negro was lynched
in New Castle Cotinty, near V/ilmlngton, for the double crime
of rape and murder. Kansas, with 3.3 per cent Negro popu-
lation has had eight lyncliings, four Negroes and four whites;
and Wyoming, with 7,0 per cent Negro population, has had the
same number and proportion since 1900, Montana has had 10
lynchings, and California 14 since 1900, only one in each

state, however, being a Negro,

129

In 1920 the Negro population of Missoiirl was
5.2 per cent of the total. Since 1900 this state has had
42 lynchings, 37 of whom v/ere Negroes. Missouri has had
more lynchings than five of the southern states, including
Virginia and North Carolina, each of v/hich has about 30
per cent Negro population, ^ Vi/hereas 92 per cent of all
persons lynched are in the South, yet five of the northern
and western states have each had more lynchings since
1900 than have two of the southern states in which the
relative percentage of Negro population is higher. Thus
it is evident that the South, when considered by states,
is no more a lynching section as a whole than is Cali-
fornia, Missouri, Illinois or Montana,

Map I shows graphically that there is not only
a concentration of lynchings In the South but a further
concentration in particular southern states. Three
southern states have had betv/een 200 and 300 lynchings
since 1900, and four others have had between 100 and
200, The seven states combined have had 1,347, or more
than 78 per cent of the total for the 16 southern states.
In the first ten southern states there has been a total
of 1,579 lynchings, or about 84 per cent of all lynchings
in the Nation, Practically 96 per cent of all l3mchinga

8, Missouri affords an indication that it is not the location
of a state, nor altogether the proportion of negro popu-
lation, so much as it is other conditions, and attitudes
that determine the number of lynchings, *or this reason
Missouri is included in the discussion of lynchings by
states and co\inties. Chapter ¥11,

<?sl

0G6

130 UuiliKl Stales

131

in the South are credited to these ten states. And it
is in these states that more tlian 90 per cent of all
women lynched since 1900 have met that fate.

152

CHAPTER VI
WOMEN AND WHITE IffiN LYNCHED

Sixty college professors and graduate students
from all sections of the country Interviewed at a con-
ference in New York, and twenty professors and graduate
students at the University of North Carolina expressed
surprise at the nvtmber of women lynched in the South,
Quite a majority of the ntimber, including several of the
southern group - both professors and students - had the
impression that practically all lynchings are due to the
crime of rape, and did not know that women were ever
lynched*,

A total of 96 women have met death at the hands
of mobs since 1882. The early statistics are doubtless
inaccurate, for there is not a lynching of a woman recorded
for the first two years of the period. The slight increase
in the nvimber of white women lynched throughout the
remainder of the Nineteenth Century no doubt indicates
an increased accuracy of the statistics rather than an
actual increase in the number of v/omen lynched. During

133

the 45 years since 1882, 24 v/hlte women and 72 colored
women have "been lynched. Table IX shows that for every
year, excepting 1887 and 1899, to the beginning of the
present Century, there was one or more women lynched.

Graph VIII shows that up to the beginning of the
Century there was a fairly close correlation between the
number of white women and the number of Negro women lynch-
ed. Since 1900 there have been only t'.vo v;hite vromen
lynched, while the curve for the Negroes is irregular,
varying from one to four throughout, excepting the years
1905, 1906, 1924 and 1925 when there were no women lynch-
ed in the country. Chart V shows the proportion of women
lynched for various causes since 1882, -*■ Of the v/hites
nine were charged with murder, five with minor offenses,
two with theft, one with arson and the crime of seven
is unknown. Of the Negroes 34 were charged with murder,
17 with minor offenses, six with arson, one with theft,
two with murderous assault, five with complicity in
murder, and the offense of seven is unknown.

It is interesting to note in more detail the
lynching s of women during the a>//entieth Century, To the
present date there has been a total of 41, all but two
of whom v/ere Negroes, Chart VI shows the nxxmber of women
lynched by year and by race since 1900, It is shown that

1, The crimes of women are not listed in Table IX, for the
years before 1900, Cutler, p. 172, gives a chart of this
natixre covering the period up to 1904 but as his informa-
tion is given in summary the separate crimes are not
available from this source.

154

TABLE IX

WOIvIEN LYNCHED IN THE U. S. FROM 1882 to 1928
By Race and by Crime and Totals^

Year

Total

'Miite

Colored

1184^

1885

1886

1888-x^^H^

1889

1890

1891

1892

1893

1894

1895

1896

1897

1898

1900-:j-^k:-

1901

1902

1903

1904

1907-JHC-JJ

1908

1909

Crime alleged In reports

Crimes of v/omen not listed
separately in early in-
formation, hence not given
here until 1900, For totals,
women by crime, see Chart V,

Crime unknown,

N. Implicated in murder.

Implicated in murder.

1 unknown; 1 implicated in

murder.
Both charged v/ith murder.

Both "murderous assault,"

"Threats"; lynched along v^rith
her husband and tv/o children.
Charged with murder.

w Compiled from Cutler, NAACP files. Clippings, etc,
*<• No iynchings in 1882, and 1883, according to records,
*«-»■ No Iynchings in intervening years.

135

TABLE IX (Cont»d)

Year

Total '.'Vhlte Colored Crime alleged In reports

1910

1911

1912

1913

1914

1915

1916

1917

1918

1919

1920

1921

1922

1923

(No women lynched, 1924, 1925)

1926 2 0 2

1927 0 0 0

Murder, 1; complicity, 1;
Operating disreputable
house, 1, (Monroe, La,),
Murder,

Murder, 2; complicity, 1,

Charge, irurder; later
found innocent.

Murder, 2; Arson, 1;
Unknov/n, 1,
"Resisting arrest"?

"Accomplice to murder"

Murder •

" Unwi s e r emark s " , 1 ;
mjirder, 2; threats, 1,
Unknov/n cause.

Complicity in mtirder,

Unknov/n. Referred to in
Gov, Dorsey's pamphlet.

Shot by men v/ho were
searching for her brother
v/ho had refused to pay 10^
interest on 50^, No of-
fense stated; relatives had
probably committed murder;
not knov/n.

TOTALS

Summary of Crimes; V/hites, Murder 10; minor offense, 5,

unknown, 6; arson, 1; lEEeft, 2, Total, 24,
Colored: Murder, 35; minor (or no offense), 17; Unknov/n, 6;

Arson, 6; theft, 1; Complicity in murder, 5; murderous

assault, 2; Total, 72,

136

GRAPH VIII

WOMEN LYNCHED 1884-1928 BY RACE

137

CHART V

WOMEN: PROPORTION LYNCHED FOR VARIOUS CAUSES 1882-1928

|'^|:tl:H:l-|

1 :

139

the majority of the lynchings of v/omen during the period
occurred between 1909 and 1922, For each of the twenty-
eight years except five, one or more women have been
lynched. The two white women were lynched in 1901 and
1908, respectively. In Mississippi County, Arkansas, on
April 6, 1901, May Hearn, white, was lynched, - charged
with murder. At Hickory Grove, Kentucky, on October 4,
1908, a Mrs. David Wallace was lynched along with her
husband and two children. The cause of this lynching
according to newspaper reports at the time was "threats".
It is very probable that the figures on the number of
women lynched are conservative, even since 1900, For the
first three years of this period Cutler found a record of
eight women lynched, while the NAACP report for this
period gives only six. Cutler was certainly not inclined
to overstate the number lynched, and we may accept his
figures as being more nearly accurate as the NAACP was
not in existence at the time and their data was gathered
some dozen years later.

Chart VII shows the proportion of Negro women
lynched for various causes from 1900 to 1928, Fourteen of
the thirty-nine were charged v/ith mxirder, seven with com-
plicity in murder, two with murderous assault, one with
arson, seven with a minor offense, while the offense of
eight is not known. One Negro girl was shot by a mob of
white men while in search of her brother who had insulted
a white man - it is said by refusing to pay ten cents
Interest on a half dollar which he had borrowed. One

•>.-\

I' 1 1 1' 1 1 1 ' 1 1 1 1 1 1 I

M-.

r .ii\

^ty^4.^ry\.%

(J^jLe^ui^

■ri

^2yi<i^Ot^

^ // / J^rlf-/,^Jil.

141

woman was shot along with her husband who was not spe-
cifically charged with any crime at all, but it was
thovight that probably he had been implicated in a murder
which happened several months previously. Two Negro
women were shot for threatening to avenge the death of
their brother who had been killed by white men. One was
shot in Monroe, Louisiana, charged with "running a disrepu-
table house." One was shot by a posse of officers and
citizens while "resisting arrest", and another for "un-
wise remarks" - concerning the lynching of her husbandl

As would nattirally be expected, a majority of the
forty-one lynchings of women since 1900 occurred in the
southern states. Of the thirty-seven assigned to the
South, Mississippi leads with a total of eleven. Then
comes Georgia v/ith eight, one of whom was lynched for
murder but was later proved to have been innocent of the
crime. Texas and Florida rank next v/lth four each; South
Carolina and Arkansas with three each; and Oklalioma and
Louisiana with two each. The only charges stated against
Rachel Moore, of Rankin Mississippi, who was lynched on
Arpil 4, 1921, was that she was the mother-in-law of a man
who had been lynched. It is in the same states and in
the same localities of these states, where men - black and
white - are lynched, that practically all of the v/omen
who meet this infamous death depart for the unknown.
Women have been lynched for the same trivial offenses for
v/hich men meet that fate.

•• 1 '.' ' '

'•f''*i"»#»

142

White Men Lynched Since 1900

From questioning many persons on the subject one
is led to conclude that there is a general impression
abroad that white men are no longer lynched since the
settliiag of the West and the establishment of courts where-
in horse thieves and murderers may be bro\ight to justice.
This impression is erroneous in two ways: In the first
place the lynching of white men has not ceased with the
settling of the West, and in the second place it is not
primarily in the V/est that white men are lynched. Thus
it seems worth while to dwell upon this aspect of the
subject.

Graph IX shows the whites lynched by years since

1900, Beginnirxg with 12 in 1900 there was a rise to 28 in

1901, then a drop to three for 1906 and 1907, In 1908 there
were eleven whites lynched with a rise to 14 in 1909; then

a drop to 9 in 1910, to 8 in 1911, to three in 1912, and to
one in 1913, Prom three in 1914 the curve reaches the
high mark of 41 in 1915 - the highest nxunber of whites
lynched in a single year since 1896,^ There was a sharp
drop to six in 1916, since which time there has not been
more than eight for any single year. This mark was reached
in 1920, There were six whites lynched in 1921, and seven
in 1922. In only two years since 1900-1924 and 1925 - is

2, There were 43 whites lynched during 1915 but we have been
unable to check up on two of them, hence have omitted
them from the list.

fta^^ jA^v2/2.^c^ /s^^^^. /^H'/pj^f^

1/ 1 <^'^^/\AhjU\~.

Utltlllllil.;ill::i!|iimtH!HI'l)IIMUlH[HlfWHt'-lf

mHH|M!lim!llll!HI!i|llimmi!ii!l!!!!l

144

there no record of a white man being lynched. During the
past decade there has been a total of 41 whites lynched;
and since 1920, thirty-one. In 1926 there were six, and
in 1927 two whites lynched.

Table X shov/ the Whites lynched by year and by
crime since 1900, There has been a total of 221 during
the twenty-eight years, or an average of about eight per
year,"^ Before proceeding with an analysis of this chart
it is necessary to explain the classification of crimes as
causes of lynching which has been adopted and which is
used henceforth in this study. The classification of crimes
by the KAACP (Table VI) was made for the same pxirpose for
which it has been used in Chapter V - that of indicating
the actual or alleged offense committed by the victim
lynched. For our purposes henceforth this type of classi-
faction is inadequate. In any sociological study or
psychological explanation of lynchings to take the actual
crime cominitted, althoiigh important, is often insufficient.
For example, "attacks" upon women as "including all cases
in which press accounts state that attacks upon women are
made, but in which it was not clear whether rape was
alleged to have been consumated or attempted" - this is a
superfluous differentiation when the point of interest is
that of studying the cultural background and, in short,
the psychology of the mob, A headline stating that a

3. The records show a total of 226, but due to inadequate
information five have been omitted from the list in this
analysis.

ose^lriw

2:lujl.

145

woman has been "attacked" - no matter if a Negro snatched
her purse, and even though this fact be stated in the
account - means rape to those who compose lynching mobs.
The same emotional reactions and irrational behavior-
patterns are "set off" as if rape had actually been
committed. Moreover, for the purpose of this study a
classification of certain crimes as "absence of crime",
or "no crime" is meaningless, Hxunan organisms, do not
react without stimulation; mobs always have a "cause".
There is, therefore, always a "crime" in so far as the
mob-members are concerned.

Thus it is clear that a more adequate classi-
faction of crimes must be employed. This means that the
work done by the publishers of "Thirty Years' Lynching in
the U. S," in classifying alleged causes of lynchings up
to 1919 must be done anev/. This is not so unfortunate
after all for in this publication there are no analytical
tables for different sections of the country, or states
according to crime. In view of the advantages afforded
for pvirposes of comparison it is fortunate that Cutler
in his book on Lynch- Lav/ (1903) adopted a classification
of the causes of lynchings that is adequate for the
present study - as adequate apparently as could be made.
In his analysis of the Tribune record up to 1903 he
grouped the numerous causes listed into the following
classes: Murder, Rape, Assault, Minor Offenses, Desperad-
ism. Arson, and Unknown, For psychological purposes this

146

classification contains some over-lappings but none so
important, or so apt to be misleading, as the classi-
fication separately of "rape" and "attacks upon women"
as discussed above. This is, then, a classification more
nearly free from faulty over-lapping of crimes and causes,
yet one of such detail as to indicate along with the
cause as nearly the exact crime committed as is possible
to give in usable table forms. In addition it is a
classification which makes possible a comparison of the
results obtained with those of the only study of this
type ever made, and extending back as far as any adequate
statistical data is to be had.

The class of Murder embraces the follov/ing:
murder, suspected murder, alleged murder, conspiracy to
murder, and complicity in murder,^

The class Rape Includes also: attempted rape,
alleged rape, attacks upon women, alleged attack upon
7/omen, and conspiracy to rape,^

The class Theft as used includes: theft,
larceny, burglary, suspected robbery, alleged robbery,
safe breaking, cattle stealing, horse stealing, hog
stealing, conspiracy to steal, or to rob.

The class Arson includes: barn burning, house
burning, arson, incendiarism. Desperadism - seldomly

4» Henceforth when one of the eight classes of crimes is meant
the word for the class will be capitalized. This will avoid
confusion of crimes and classes of crimes,

5, Due to more various "causes" being listed in the reports
since 1900, this class is considerably enlarged from that
used by Cutler, Hov/ever, it includes the same "cause" for
lynching.

147

reported since 1900 - includes the action of a desperado,
outlaw, highway robber, train wrecker, and train robber.

The class Assault embraces assault and murderous
assault. Fewer and fewer whites are lynched for Assault,
As public opinion grows more unfavorable tov/ard mob violence,
a higher proportion of Negroes lynched for fighting white
men are accused of murderous assault.

The class Minor Offenses includes an almost un-
limited number, some of which are stated even at the cost
of adding to this long but necessary digression: race pre-
judice, miscegenation, S and various offenses, such as (for
whites) wife-beating, cruelty, kidnapping, turning states
evidence, refusing to tvirn state's evidence, sv/indling,
political prejudice, giving information, informing, pro-
tecting a Negro, giving evidence, mob indignation, dis-
resputable character, tlireats, aiding escape of murderer,
suspected of killing cattle, prospective elopement; (for
Negroes) self-defense, v/ife beating, cutting levees,
kidnapping, voodooism, poisoning horses, vifriting insulting
letters, incendiary language, jilting a girl, trirning
state's evidence, political trouble, gambling, quarreling,
poisoning wells, unpopularity, making tlireats, circulat-
ing scandal, being troublesome, bad reputation, drunkenness,
strike rioting, rioting, insults, supposed offense, insult-

6, Miscegenation is close alcin, psychologically^ ^"rape or
attack upon a v/hite woman. The same complex" in the
white man is aroused if a v/hite woman goes to live with
a Negro as if the Negro "attacked" her.

148

ing women, fraud, criminal abortion, alleged stock poison-
ing, enticing servant away, asking white woman in marriage,
writing letter to white woman, conspiracy, elopement with
white girl, refusing to give evidence, giving evidence,
disobeying ferry regulations, running quarantine, violation
of contract, paying attention to white girl, resisting
assault, inflammatory language, resisting arrest, testi-
fying for one of his own race, keeping gambling house,
quarrel over profit-sharing, forcing^white boy to commit a
crime, and lawlessness.

The class Unknown Offense, includes unknown
offense, no offense, without cause, mistaken identity, by
accident, and no cause given.

Frequently the report of a lynching states that
a double crime has been committed. In these cases the
follovifing rules have been observed: rape and murder are
classed under Rape, robbery and murder under Murder, arson
and murder under Murder, assault and robbery xinder Assault,
and robbery and arson under Arson,

Table X shov/s that about 56 per cent of the total
221 whites lynched since 1900 were charged with murder.
Next in order come the list for Unknown crimes with 30, and
the Minor Offenses, with twenty- three. Thirteen whites
have been lynched for Theft since 1900, but no white man
has suffered death for this crime since 1915, In 1901 a
total of nine whites were lynched for this offense. The
Table shows that in general with the passing of years there

149

TABLE X
WHITES LYNCHED BY YEAR AND BY CRIME, 1900 to 1928
YEAR Total Murder Rape Assault Minor Desp, ■>"-'-'-'hef t Unknown

1900

1901

1902

1903

1904

1905

1906

1907

1908

1909

1910

1911

1912

1913

1914

1915

1916

1917

1918

1919

1920

Sub-
totals

198

114

■K-Desperado.

(■>

I.I

150

TABLE X (Cont'd)
YEAR Total Murder Rape Assault Minor Desp. Theft Unknown

1921

1922

1923

1924

1925

1926

1927

Subtotal

1921-23

Subtotal

198

114

1900-20

TOTALS

221

123

( .

151

is a higher proportion of whites lynched for the more
serious offenses. Prom 1882 to 1903, for example, of the
1169 whites lynched 38 per cent were for Mxxrder, Rape
ranlced second with 34.3 per cent. On the other hand it is
notable that a higher proportion have been lynched since
1900 for Unknown offenses than during the earlier period,
almost 15 per cent as compared to 4,3 per cent. This
probably indicates that of late years it is more necessary
to assign some major offense for the lynching of a v/hite
man, but that at the same time white men are lynched for
lesser offenses, and in these cases the crime is not
stated. That v/hite men are sometimes lynched for very
minor offenses is indicated below.

Table XI shows the whites lynched by crime and
by month for the past twenty-eight years. It is notable
that a majority of the whites are lynched in the late
stumner and fall months. The peak month is October with
30, a majority of whom v/ere charged with Murder, Then
comes July with 26, Aiigust and September with 23 each, and
April with 22, A curve showing the whites lynched by
month corresponds very closely to Graph III (ante), in-
dicating that possibly the whites are lynched for causes
corresponding closely to those for which Negroes are
lynched. This is more significant when we note where and
for what offense the whites are lynched.

Contrary to v/hat seems to be the general opinion
on the subject, it is not in the North and '.Vest that
practically all, or even a majority of the V/hites are

152

TABLE XI
WHITES LYNCHED, BY CRI?.1E AND BY MONTH, 1900 to 1928
Month Miirder Rape Assault Minor Theft Desp"' Unknovm Total

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Unknown

6 (mj -^:-

TOTALS 120 20 6 24 13 7 31 221

* Desperado Includes "train robber , "train wrecker'*, an3"

"highway robber", "banditry".
iHc These were Mexfcans, Cameron County, Texas,

rr?

^^ f

153

lynched. On the other hand It is in the same states where
a majority of the Negroes are lynched, thus indicating that
lynching is not only a racial but also a sectional matter.
Table XII shows the whites lynched by state and by county
since 1900, It shows that of the total 221, 153 or 70 per
cent v/ere lynched in the South, while 44, or 20 per cent
were lynched in the West, and 22, or 10 per cent in the
North, With the exception of Texas, - where over 50 per
cent of the "whites" lynched have been Mexicans - and of
Kentucky, there is a close correlation between the rank
of the different states in the n\amber of Negroes and in the
number of whites lynched. Thus whatever the tmderlying
cause may be, it is the same states in which Negroes are
habitually lynched that the vast majority of white men
are lynched.

By comparing Table XII v;ith the Maps in Chapters
VII and VIII it is to be seen that there is not only a
concentration of the lynching of whites in the South, and
in particular states of the South, but that there is in
general also a close correspondence by counties in the total
number lynched and in the number of whites lynched. In-
dications are that in many instances it is the same people
that lynch both Negroes and whites. This is possibly
further indicated when we note the nature of the crimes
for which white men are lynched. This is best shown by
a detailed list of the crimes rather than by a classification
such as has been noted above.

i;.^. ■ '■xerV

: . 0

n . t ft

• evoc

154

TABLE XII

WHITES LYlNlCHED BY STATE AITO BY COUNTY, 1900 to 1928

STATE and

Nximber

STATE and

Number

County

lynched

County

lynched

ALABAMA

FLORIDA

Baldv/in

Alachua

Geneva

Bradford

Jefferson

Columbia

V/alfrer

Hillsboro

Unlcnovm Co.

Holmes
Lafayette

1
1

ARIZONA

Madison
Monroe

1
1

Penial

Taylor

Unlcnown Co,

Orange
Washington

1
1

ARKANSAS

GEORGIA

Boone

Garland

Baldwin

Jackson

Bibb

Mississippi

Coffee

Monroe

Fannin

Nevada

Floyd

Pocahuntas

Harris

Polk

Talbot

Searcy

Toombs
Whitfield

1
1

CALIFORNIA

IBAEO

Los Angeles

Modac

Idaho Co,

Siskiyou

Sonoma

ILLINOIS

Unlcnown Co,

Madison

COLORADO

Perry

Fremont

IOWA

Las Animas

Floyd Co,

Pueblo

Unknown Co,

TABLE XII (Cont'd)

155

STATE and

Number

STATE and

Nvunb

County

lynched

County

lynched

KANSAS

MISSOURI

Bourbon

Barton

Johnson

Lafayette

Stafford

Monroe
Platte

1
1

KENTUCKY

Unknown Co,

lallard

MONTANA

Estil

Pulton

Piirgus

Graves

Lewis and CI,

Hardin

Ravalli

Laren

Rosebud

Mason

Silver Bow

Simpson

Teton

V/ayne

Yellowstone

Wolfe

Unknovm Co,

Unknown Co,

ITEBRASKA

LOUISIANA

Cherry

Claiborne

Pranlclin

NEW JERSEY

Livingston

Morehouse

Bergen

Ouachita

Richland

NEW YORK

Vernon

West Felincia

WasMngton

Unknov/n Co«

NFA' MEXICO

MAINE

Bernalillo

Aroostook

Santa Fe

MICHIGAN

NEVADA

Unknovm Co,

Nye
Churchill

1
1

IvHSSISSIPPI

NORTH CAROLINA

Bolivar

Anson

Coalaoma

Graham

Forrest

Jackson

NORTH DAKOTA

Lauderdale

Kidder

Lo^^•ndes

Williams

.4,
±

TABLE XII (ContM)

156

STATE and
County

Nximber
lynched

STATE and
County

Number
lyncb.ed_

Pearl River
Smith
Washington
Unknown Co,

OKLAHOMA

Hughes

Okfuskee

Pontotoc

Tulsa

Unknovm

OREGON

Baker
SOUTH CAROLINA

Kershaw
SOUTH DAKOTA

Todd

TENNESSEE

Benton

Dekalb

Lake

Roane

Scott

Washington

Unknov/n Co,

TEXAS

Bell

Caldwell

Cameron

Edwards

Hopkins

Jefferson

Karnes

Lavaca

McLennan

Tarrant

Taylor

Terrell

Thorndale
Unknovm Co

1
1
5

1
4
1
2

1
1
1
1
1
1

1
1
25m-«-

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

1
5

OHIO

Licking

VIRGINIA

Norfolk
Pittsylvania
?i/arwick
Washington

WASHINGTON

Lewis
Unknown Co,

7/EST VIRGINIA

Fayette
Randolph

WISCONSIN

Dane

WYOIGNG

Big Horn

Natrona

Y/eston

UICCNOWN STATE

1
1
1
1

1
1

TOTAL

SOUTH'""''"'

221

153, or 70 per cent

of total,
WEST 44 or 20 per cent of

total.
NORTH 22 or 10 per cent of

-total,

-"- All Mexicahs,

4K<- Here v/e have used the
Census Divisions, thus
excluding Missouri, v/hich
would if included make
the percentage of all
lynched in the South 72
per cent.

157

Table XIII shows that In the North and Y/est
where lynchings are less frequent It is In general true
that men are lynched only for the worst crimes. There
are notable exceptions, such as "disloyal remarks",
"prospective elopement", "I. W. W. Leader", and "horse
thief", but these are relatively fev/. In the South, on
the other hand, while it is true that a larger proportion
are lynched for murder than for any other cause, yet it
is notable that white men have been lynched for the most
trivial offenses. As late as 1920 a white man was hanged
by a mob in Hartford, Alabama, "because of remarks he is
alleged to have m.ade to a white woman," The detailed list
of "crimes" committed by the 153 white men lynched in the
South since 1900 reads not unlike that of the Negroes
lynched in that section during the period. There are a
few more whites than Negroes lynched for Murder and not
so many for alleged rape. With this exception there is
little difference in the two lists. White men have been
lynched for refusing information, strike-breaking, making
threats, robbery, suspected cattle stealing, trying to
keep mob from lynching a Negro, disloyal remarks, assault-
ing a policeman, and wife-beating; and one, for failiire
to heed a warning to leave the ranch of v/hich he was
foreman. The number lynched in the South for an "unlcnown
crime" is notably high. The crime for which almost one-
fifth of all whites lynched in the South since 1900 is
not fenown.

158

TABLE XIII

WHITES LYNCHED, BY STATE AND BY CRIME, Prom 1900 to 1928

THE SOUTH

Total

Crimes

Alabama 6

Arkansas 10

Florida 12

Georgia 12

Kentucky 18

Louisiana 10

Mississippi 14

North Carolina 4

Oklahoma 10

South Carolina

Tennessee
Texas

Virginia
West Virginia

8
42

M\ird.er, 3; "alleged remarks to white
woman"; 1; crime unknown, 2.
Murder, 7; strike-breaker. 1; highvmy-
man, 1; "disloyal remarks , 1,
Murder, 5; unknown, 1; "murderous as-
sault", 1; refusing information, 1;
attempted rape, 1; attempted murder,
2; woiinding a deputy sheriff, 1,
Murder, 4; rape, 4; alleged rape and
murder, 1; alleged murder, 2; unknovm,
1.

Murder, 4; unknown, 6; murderous as-
sault, 1; killed by night riders, 2;
making threats, 4; forcing v/hite boy
to commit a crlm.e, 1;,
Murder, 3; unknown, 4; rape, 1; shelt-
ering murderer, 1; robbery, 1;
M\irder, 6; unknovm crime, 3; attempted
rape, 1; robbery, 1; suspected cattle
thieves, 3,

Murder, 1; "Three night riders" in
Graham County, in 1915,
Murder, 3; unlmown, 2; suspected of
killing cattle, 1; complicity in mur-
der, 3; "trying Ipo keep mob from
lynching a Negro , 1, (Marlow, Okla.
Negroes are not allov/ed, ViThite man
hired Negro to v/ork as porter in his
hotel, than tried to keep mob from
lynching Negro),

Murder, 1, John Morrison, Kershaw
County,

Murder, 5; unknovm crime, 1; rape, 2,
Mtirder, 10; "fighting v/ith an American','
one, (Mexican); "failure to heed v;arn-
in^ to leave the country", 1; rape and
mtirder, 2; unknovm crime, 3; rape, 1;
attempted rape, 1; pillage and murder,
6; (Mexicans), Y/if e-beating, 1; band-
itry, 6; (Mexicans), Train-v/re eking and
murder, 10,

Mtirder, 2; allaulting a policeman, 1;
rape, 1,
Murder, 2. (One was murderer of his wife)

159

TABLE XIII (Cont'd)

"WTWsT

Niamber
5T"

Crime

Arizona
California

Colorado

Idaho

Montana

Nev/ Mexico

Nevada

Oregon

Washington

Wyoming

4
13

5
2
9

2
2

1
2
4

Murder, 3; horse thief, 1,
Murder, 5; unknovm, 1; theft, 5; rape,
1; mistaken identity, 1 - in December,
1927, a boy was placed in jail in Los
Angeles, He "favored" Hickman who was
then being brought to L« A. for the
fiendish murder of little Marion Parker,
Those in jail beat this boy, Ralph
McCoy, to death,
Mtirder, 5,

Murder, 1; wife-beating, 1,
Murder, 3; unknovm crime, 2; rape, 1;
attempted rape, 1; "I. V/. YU leader",
1; resisting arrest for suspected in-
sanity, 1^; he was bvirned.
Murder, 2,

Robbery, 1; race prejudice, 1 (Chinese),
Rape, 1,
larder, 2,
Murder, 4.

THE NORTH

Crime

Illinois

Ohio

Iowa

Nev/ Jersey

Kansas

Maine

South Dakota

Michigan

Nev/ York

Missouri

Nebraska

North Dakota

Wisconsin

2 Murder, 1; disloyal remarks, 1,

1 Mvirder, 1,

1 Murder , 1 ,

1 Murder , 1 .

4 Miirder, 3; for being a member of the
non-partisan League, 1,

1 Rape, 1,

1 Horse-stealing, 1,

1 Prospective elopement, 1,

1 Murderous assault, 1,

5 Murder, 1; unknown crime, 1,

1 Murder, 1,

2 Murder, 1,
1 larder , 1 ,

AJL

■9 - ■ ■*

160

Thus not only is it true that more than 85 per
cent of all Negroes lynched are lynched in the South, and
that since 1900 more than 90 per cent of all women lynched
have been in the South, but also it is in this section that
70 per cent of the 221 whites, including two women, have
been lynched since 1900, In general it is the same states
that lynch high proportions of both Negroes and v/hites, and
in many instances the same counties. Unlike the conditions
in the West described in Chapter III there are now apparent-
ly no peculiar crimes or circumstances under which white
men are lynched. The lynching of white men as well as of
Negroes, therefore, seems to be a part of the culture -
pattern of certain localities in the South, The lynching
of a white man, for example, for some heinous crime, or for
some trivial offense, seems to be a conditioned reaction,
possibly more generally verbal, which under proper stimulus
occurs without hesitation or shame. Just why this should
be is not so apparent as many have tho\ight.

161

CHAPTER VII

LYNCHINGS BY STATES AIJD BY COUNTIES IN THE SOUTH

It has been pointed out that there is apparent-
ly no correlation, either in the southern states or in
the Nation as a whole, between the total Negro population
or the proportion of Negro population and the number of
persons lynched. This, however, would not necessarily
mean that there is no such relationship in the localities
where lynching s occur. The problem thus raised requires
a closer analysis of lynchings in the various states.
It may be that certain population or other characteristics
peculiar to particular localities have some demonstrable
causal relationship with lynchings. Are there, for example,
particular crimes characteristic of the worst lynching
states which may account for the number of lynchings? Is
it true that in these states, or in particular counties of
these states, a majority of the persons lynched are Negroes

162

who have coimnltted the crime of rape?^ Is there an even
dispersion of lynchings in the states in which they are
concentrated, as shown by Chart III and Map I (ante)?
Is there, therefore, after all a close correlation betv/een
the nmnerical or proportional number of Negroes in the
counties where lynchings occur? Or, is lynching apparent-
ly only one aspect of the general inter-racial situation
which in turn is the result of numerous factors, past
and present, in the economic, educational, social, and
possibly the religious life of the particular section,
state or locality concerned? Some light may be throvm
on such questions as these.

The Minor Lynching States

Turning attention first to the states in v/hlcli\
there have been relatively fev/ lynchings, we find that in
general a majority of these lynchings have occ\irred as a
result of alleged atrocious crimes, and have been fairly
well scattered over the various counties of these states.
The higher the rank of the state as regards the number
of persons lynched, the less true, in general, is this
statement,

Delev/are has had but one lynching since 1900,
A Negro, George '(Vhite, was lynched near Wilmington in

In After quoting some general statistics on this question to
an ex-Mississipplan, in New York, the v/riter was assured
that if he would "look" he would find that I.Iisslsslppi
is different in this respect, that practically every Negro
lynched in this state has committed rape, Cf, Chapter VIII.

163

Jxme, 1903, charged with the double crime of rape and
murder.

Table XIV shows the lynching s in Maryland by
crime and by month since 1900, Of the seven persons
lynched in that State three were for murder, two for
rape, one for assault, and one for arson. Two of these
lynchings occurred in March and two in December; one in
Jvine, one in July, and one in October, The murders
occurred in July, October and December; the cases of
alleged rape in March and December; the case of assault
in June and that of arson in March,

Map II shoY/s the dispersion of the lynchings
in Maryland, Only one county, Anne Arundel, in the
central part of the State, has had two. One of these
was for Rape, in 1906, and the other for Murder on
Christmas Day, 1911, In Alleghany County, in the western
part of the State, a Negro was lynched for Murder in
October, 1907, The lone lynching in Hartford County
occurred in March, 1900, The victim was charged with
Rape, In the extreme South-eastern part of the State
there have been two lynchings, one in Somerset Coxinty,
1907, for Murder, and one in Worcester Covin ty in 1906
for "murderous assault". In Baltimore County, at
Rosedale, a Negro was lynched in 1909 for an unnamed
offense. There is no record of a lynching in Maryland
during the last 17 years.

164

TABLE XIV
MARYLAND: CRIMES BY MONTH, \VHITE AITO NEGRO, 1900-1928

Crime

Month

Murder

Rape

Assault Mi

.nor ■]

[■heft

Arson

Unknown

Total

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Totals

166

V/est Virginia

Table XV shows that since 1900 there have been
17 persons lynched In V/est Virginia, 15 of v/hom were
Negroes. Taking these by crimes, nine were for Murder,
four for Rape, and two for Minor Offenses, Taking the
crimes and lynchings by month we find that five of the
nine mxirders occurred in July, two in December, and one
each in February and October. Two of the alleged rapes
occurred in November, and one each in May and September.
Of the total 17 lyncliings, seven occurred in July. Both
of the white men lynched met that fate for Murder, one
in March and one in July,

Map III shows that in West Virginia only one
county has had more than two lynchings, Randolph County
has had a total of seven persons lynched during the
period, one white and six Negroes. Of the Negroes one
was lynched at Elkins on July 22, 1901, for Murder; one
was lynched on July 25, 1920, at Y/omelsdorf for "mis-
taken identity" and foiir for Murder.^ There has not been
a lynching in Randolph Govmty since 1909 v;hen Joseph
Brovm, white, was lynched at '/.Tiltmore, on March 19, charg-
ed with mvirder.

2, Personal letters of inquiry bring no further information
than that these Negroes v/ere lynched for murder, and that
nov/ Womelsdorf is an incorporated village under that name
but that the Post Office is Goalton, '//est Virginia,

167

TABLE XV
VffiST VIRGINIA: CRIMES BY MONTH, '/VHITE AND NEGRO, 1900-1928

Month Murder Rape Assault Minor Theft Arson Unknown Total

January

February

March

April

May

Jxme

July

6(lw)

August

September

October

November

December

Totals

( )

()

(••

MAP III

168

PUTNAM 1
■z.\

O^J

9!i

>^°

Aii^

J^A>

'c:

.o^J

JACKSON

-%J

CALHOUNi

OX
■z-\

^psnukX

MARSHALL

169

Only two other counties of '.Vest Virginia have
had as many as tv/o lynchings since 1900, Payette and Logan,
In 1902, February 2, a Negro was lynched for "alleged con-
juring". On July 25, eighteen years later at Payetteville,
Payette County, occurred the next and last lynching.
William Bennett, a white man, was taken from jail by a
mob and lynched. He had been sentenced to life imprison-
ment for murdering his wife. The two lynchings in Logan
County occiirred in 1919, at Chapmanville, According to a
report in The Nev/ York Times two Negroes, Ed Whitfield
and Earl Whitney, were shot to death by a mob on December
15. They were accused of murdering E, D, Meek, a resident
of Island Creek, Logan County, They had been arrested and
placed in jail at Logan. Crov/ds surrounded the jail but
were kept from entering by the Sheriff and his deputies,
but it was decided advisable to take the prisoners to
Huntington on a special train. Before the train could
pull out of Logan the deputies in charge of the prisoners
were "overpov/ered". The Negroes were taken from the
caboose of the train lined up beside freight cars, and
shot to death. Both bodies were thrown into the
Guyandotte River,

This case indicates that under proper stimulus
a lynching is likely to occur irrespective of the past
history of the locality. This point is further illustrated
in Chapter IX in the case of the lynching of Walter Johnson,
at Bluefield, Mercer Coxuity, Guilt seems not to be more
necessary in these isolated cases than in the v/orst

•^i. o*a

170

lynclilng counties, although, doubtless, in general it
is. More noticeable, however, is the fact that in
these isolated cases the accusation is more generally of
a more atrocious crime. In Johnson's case, for example,
guilt was not the question; the mob lynched hira for Rape,
This case, and others, indicates that so long as the
attitude on the part of the "average working man" is what
it is, a lynching is likely to occur at any point where
there are Negroes and whites in close contact,

Virginia

Table XVI shows the lynchings by race, by month,
and by crime for Virginia since 1900, There has been a
total of 31, four of which were y/hites, all males. It is
notable that in Virginia more of those lynched have been
charged with Rape than of any other crime. One v/hite
man and twelve Negroes have been lynched for that crime,
v/hile two whites and eight Negroes have been lynched for
Murder, Taking the crimes by month, v/e note that there
is a fairly even scatter tliroughout the year. Seven
lynchings have occurred in Aiigust, five in March, and
three each in April and December, Five of the seven
lynched in August were charged with Rape, Three of the
murders occurred in March and the remainder were con-
concentrated in the fall and v/inter months, with one
exception in April,

Map IV shows that the relatively fev/ lynchings
in Virginia have been widely scattered over the State,

171

TABLE XVI

VIRGINIA: CRIMES BY MONTH, 7ifHITE AND NEGRO, 1900-1928

Month Miirder Rape Assault Minor Theft Arson Unknown Total

0 2

0 1

0 5

0 3

0 1

1 2

0 2

1 7
0 1
0 2
0 2
0 3

Totals 10 (2w) 13(lw) Iw 2 1 2 2 31

January-

Pet) ruary

March

3(lw)

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

!_;

i;(wl):.

173

Only one county, Halifax, has had more than two lynch-
Ings, while eight counties have had two, and eleven
counties have had one. The county for one lynching,
for Rape, is unknown. In 1901 a Negro was lynched in
Halifax County for Arson, and four years later one was
lynched on account of "race prejudice". The third and
last lynching in that county occurred on August 27, 1920,
when Leslie Allen v/as shot and killed in the home of a
Negro near Virgilinla hy a posse of "Halifax Coimty
citizens" after he had heen accused of insulting two
small white girls at Buffalo Springs,

During the past decade there have been six
lynchlngs in Virginia, The last one occurred in V/ytheville,
in Wythe Coiinty, on August 12, 1926, A mob of masked men
stormed the County Jail and shot Raymond Bird, Negro, to
death, after v/hich the body was taken to the neighborhood
where he was alleged to have attacked a white girl, and
hanged to a tree. Practically 75 per cent of all persons
lynched in Virginia since 1900 were charged with either
Rape or Murder,

North Carolina

North Carolina ranks next in the number of lynch-
ings since 1900 with a total of 39, four whites and 35
Negroes, Table XVII shows that a majority of those lynched
in this state have been charged with the crime of Murder,
About 70 per cent of the total number lynched have been

174

TABLE XVII

LYNCHINGS IN NORTH CAROLINA, BY RACE, BY CRIME, BY MONTH,

FROM 1900 to 1928

Month

Murder

Rape

Assault

Minor

Theft

Arson

Unlcnown

Total

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

Aixgust

4(3w)

September

October

November

December

Totals

15 (Iv/)

6(3w)

39(4w)

175

charged v/ith Rape or Murder, there being 12 and 15
respectively for these crimes. The crime of six of the
victims is vmlcnown. Included in this number are t}iree
wliite men lynched in Graham County in 1915. They are
supposed to have been "night riders" and it is not known
by whom they v/ere lynched, or why. Considering the
lynchings by month it is notable that 15 have occurred
in August, five in January, and four in March. It is
in the month of August that most of the crimes for both
Murder and Rape are alleged as the cause of lynchings.

Map V shows the dispersion of lynchings in
North Carolina over the different counties. There are
only two counties in which more than two lynchings have
occurred since 1900, Graham and Rowan. As noted above
there have been three in Graham County. The four lynched
in Rowan County were charged with murder. One of them,
named Gillispie, was lynched in 1902, and four years later
at the same place, Salisbury, two other Gillispie' s of
the same family, and another Negro were lynched for
murder. Personal inquiry from citizens of Rowan Coiinty
indicates that the Gillispie's were a "bad family of
Negroes who could not get along with anybody" and who
"were always in trouble with somebody". It is said by
these informants that the Gillispie Negroes, seemingly
at the instigation of their mother, murdered a whole
family of v/hite people, the Lylery's, for whom they
worked, A little boy in the family told all he knev/ when

177

the mob came after them. For this he was excused to wit-
ness the lynching of the others, unharmed. The mother
was not lynched but was instead turned over to the "law"
and is now said to be "serving a life sentence in the
workhouse".

Of the two lynched in Mecklenbuig County, one
was charged with rape, in 1910; and one with murder, in
1913, The two in -^nson County, one white and one Negro,
were charged with murder. An tmnamed Negro is reported
to have been lynched in Johnson County, in 1908, by
Negroes "for giving poor entertainment". This is the
only case on record of this kind, that is, where Negroes
lynched a Negro, There have been 18 lynchings in the
State during the past decade, but only one during the
past five years,

Missouri

In Missouri there has been a total of 42
persons lynched since 1900, It is notable that the
lynching curve follov/s closely along the Missouri River
in the upper part of the state and that in the lower
part about 50 per cent of the lynchings have occurred
along the border of the Mississippi River, with the
largest ntunber in Pemiscot Covmty, This is shovm by
Map VI,

3. This ntunber includes Thomas Bradshav/ v/ho after Ve'ing sho't
five tines by a posse in Nash County, in 1927, fell dead
"on account of heart failure from fatigue" according to
the coroner *s jury.

179

In the Sou th-we stern part of the state tv/o
counties have had three lynchings each, and one county
has had tv/o since 1900, These counties had had few
lynchings before 1900 so far as availatle records shov/,
and the number and dates of those occurring since that
time do not indicate a "lynching habit" on the part of
the people. In Lawrence County, for example, there has
not been a lynching since 1901, when, on August 19, tliree
Negroes were lynched near Pierce City, "suspected of
miirder". In the adjoining county of Greene three Negroes
were lynched in April, 1906, Two of these occvirred in
rapid succession; the first was on April 4, for "alleged
rape"; the second, on April 14, for Rape; and the
third on April 15, at Springfield for Murder, The two
lynchings listed for Howell County occurred at V/est
Plains in 1914, A Negro and his v/ife v/ere lynched for
an "unknov/n cause".

The lynchings along the rivers are more evenly
scattered over the v/hole period, Missouri has had only
two lynchless years since 1900, one of v/hich v/as 1922;
and the other, 1926, In 1927 "there v/as one lynching in
the state, in Pemiscot County which has had more lynchings
than any other county In Missouri during the period of
28 years. Two of the total six lynchings for this county
occurred in 1903, at Caruthersville, and the cause listed
by the reports at the time v/as "prejudice". No crime
is listed against either of the victims. In 1911 the
only two lynchings in the state occurred at Caruthers-

180

ville on the same day, Octoljer 11, the charges being rape
and robbery. In 1916 at Hayti, Pemiscot County, a Negro
was lynched for "attempted murder", Hayti is a fev/ miles
north of Caruthersville, and is just across the River from
Lake County, Tennessee, which until 1910 was notably a
lynching county. The last lynching in Missouri occurred
at Braggadocio, Pemiscot County, a small tov/n a fev/ miles
west of Caruthersville, On May 22, 1927 a Negro was
lynched after an alleged criminal assault on a white
woman. He v/as taken from the jail, hanged by the hands
to a temporary scaffold v/hich had been constructed for
the purpose, and his body pierced with bullets,^

The two lynchings listed for the adjoining
county of New Madrid occurred in 1902 and 1910, One of
victims was charged with "assaulting a white man" and the
other with "murderous assault". In the case of Mississippi
County, second in rank according to the number of lyncliings,
it is again to be noted that lynching is more habitual than
in the counties av/ay from the river. The only recorded
lynching in the state in 1905 was that of Robert Pettigrew
at Belmont, Mississippi Co^mty, charged with "kidnapping",

4. Dispatch to the "New York Evening Post", May 23, 1927,

5, It is doubtless true that in both cases a Negro merely
engaged in a fight with a v;hite man, vvTiereas "assaulting
a v/hite man" could with propriety be listed as the cause
of a lyncliing in Missouri in 1902, this v/as hardly true
in 1910, With two exceptions there has not been a
lynching in Missoujci during the past 20 years without a
serious offense being given as the cause, usually m.urder.

181

Five years later, in July, two Negroes were lynched at
Charleston for Miirder, Again, in 1924, on December 18,
a mob of over 200 men "overpowered" the sheriff in his
office at Charleston, took possession of a 20-year-old
Negro v/ho v/as "alleged to have attempted to attack a
white girl". Members of the mob dragged him across the
courtyard and hanged him within 50 feet of the Sheriff's
office, "A bullet was fired through the body which was
then cut dovra, tied to an automobile and dragged through
the streets of the Negro section" of the town.

Table }57III shov/s the lynchings in Missouri
since 1900 by crlm.e, by race, and by month. Three of
the five whites were lynched in May, one in July and one
in August, Pour of them v/ere charged with murder, and
the crime of one is unlcnov;n, A majority of the lynchings
in the State have occurred in the spring and sTommer
months, the greatest number, nine, having occurred in
May, All but three of the 19 alleged murders which
occasioned a lynching occxirred in these months, as well
as seven of the 10 Rapes, The three lynched for theft
breathed their last d\iring the fall months. Of the total
42 lynched during the period, 19 were charged with Murder;
ten v/ith Rape^ fotir with Minor Offenses, such as "attacking
a white man", "race prejudice", and "prejudice". The
crimes of five, including a white man and a Negro woman,
are not knovm, Missouri is not one of the v/orst lynching
states; but the practice persists there until the present
time, although the Negro population is only 5,2 per cent

182-3

TABLE XVIII

MISSOURI: LYNCHINGS BY CRDffi, BY RACE, AND BY MONTH,

Prom 1900 to 1928

Month

Murder Rape Assault Ullnor Theft Arson Unknovm Total

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

3(lw)

August

5(1t0

September

October

November

December

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

1
1
1

0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0

0
Ivr

2
0
0
0
0

3
2

3
7

9
2

4
6

1
2
2

Totals 19(4w) 10

5(lw) 42 (5w)

184

of the total in the state as a whole, and only 14.5 per
cent for the worst lynching county, Pemiscot,

Oklahoma

Table XIX shows the lynchings in Oklahoma by
crime and by month since 1900, Of the total 48 persons
lynched dxiring the period 10 were whites. In this respect
Oklahoma might well be classed among the western states.
During recent years, hov/ever, m.ob action in Oklahoma has
been characterized by inter-racial conflict. More than
50 per cent of both whites and Negroes lynched in this
state have been charged v/ith murder. Eleven Negroes have
been charged with Rape, Only one was lynched for a Minor
Offense and two for an Unknovm Offense, The highest number
of lynchings in the state occvirred in the months of August
with nine, April with six, and December v/ith five. The
total number is fairly well scattered throughout all m.onths
of the year except February and October, with one each.
Especially with regard to the niimber lynched in October,
Oklahoma is notably different from other southern states.

Map VII shows that the lynchings in Oklahoma
since 1900 have been fairly dispersed throughout the East-
central part of the state from north to south. Only two
counties have had as many as four lynchings each, and three
counties as many as three each, during the period. The
fovir lynchings in Oklahoma County were scattered over a
period of years from 1906 to 1922. Three of the victims

185

TABLE XIX
OKLAHOMA: LYNCHINGS BY CRIME AND BY MONTH, 1900 to 1928

Month Murder Rape Assault Minor Theft Arson Unknovm Total

January

February

March

April

5(4y;)

May

June

July

August

6(lw)

September

October

November

December

2(lw)

4(lw)

6(4w)

6(14)

9(2w)

5(lw)

Totals 30{6w) 11 0 2(lw) 0 0 5(3w) 48(lQv/)

I«-

186

OkUhoaa

187

were charged with murder, and the crime of one Is not
known, - that of a packing house employer who, in 1922,
was kidnapped from his home and hanged to a tree near
Oklahoma City, The four persons lynched in Pontotoc
County were white men. All were lynched on the same day,
April 19, 1909, at Ada, charged with "complicity in
murder".

Of the three persons lynched in Hughes County,
two were Kegroes, and one, and Indian* One of the Negroes
and the Indian were charged v;lth murder; and the other,
with "attack upon a v/hite woman". The three lynched in
Okfuskee County were charged with murder. One, a white
man, was lynched in 1910, In 1911 a woman and her son
met the same fate. The three lynchings in Wagoner County
occurred in 1913, 1914, and 1915, The first and third
mob victims were charged with rape and attempted rape,
and the second with murder. The Tulsa Race Riot result-
ed in a substantial addition in the niunber of mob
murders to the single lynching recorded in Tulsa County.
While the official record listed 10 v/hites and 21 Negroes,
officers estimated that about 50 whites and 100 Negroes
were burned or shot.

South Carolina

While the next three states in the order of the
ntimber of mob victims during the past 28 years have had
less than 100 lynchings, it is only by this arbitrary

188

method of division that they may he termed "Minor
Lynching States", as contrasted to the seven states
with more than 100 victims of moh action during the
period* As is indicated in Chapter IX, some of the most
notorious cases of mob action in recent years have
occurred in these states.

Table XX, therefore, is inserted for considera-
tion in connection with South Carolina, Kentucky and
Tennessee, as well as with the "Major" lynching states*
This table shows some of the population characteristics.
For each state it shows the total ntimber lynched during
the period, the percentage white population in 1920, and
percentage Negro population in 1920 and 1910, Also the
percentage of the total number of all Negroes and v/hites
ten years of age and above who were illiterate in 1920
is given. The same information is given for each covmty
in v/hich six or more persons have been lynched since 1900,
and in addition the total number of whites and Negroes
residing in these counties.

Table XXI shows that since 1900 a total of 69
persons have been lynched in South Carolina, Only one of
these was white. The highest number of lynchings have
occurred in June and July with ten each, while eight
occurred in October and January, and seven in November
and December, The cases of alleged rape are scattered
throughout all the months except February and March, with
the greatest niimber in August, January and September, A

-'d.'i.av

♦ aox

-i-OIjE

■HiC EOdX'

^ -\ B!

♦ .■10 vx

189

TABLE XX

LYNCHINGS AND POPULATION CHARACl'ERISTICS IN THE SOUTH BY COUNTY
(Compiled from the U. S, Census Reports of 1920)

STATE and
County

WHITi Per ' Negro
Number Popula- Cent Popula-
Ismched tlon 7;hlte tion
1900-28: 1928 1920 1920

Per cent
Necro

Illlterac
Per cent

In 1920

1920; UP Negroes

ARKANSAS

Arkansas
Phillips
Hempstead

ALABAMA

Covington
Jefferson
Mobile
Montgomery

FLORIDA

Alachua

Columbia

Duval

Hillsboro

Holmes

Jackson

Madison

Marion

Orange

Polk

GEORGIA

Bibb

Bleckley

Brooks''''*

Bulloch

Coffee

Columbia

Decatur

Lov/ndes '""*'■

Mitchell

Oconee

Dodge

•K- Since 1910
*-K- Brooks and
1900. See

124

15
6
6

129

156

13
8
6
7
8
6
7
7
9

293

8
7
6
6
18
6
8
6

72,2!

15,944 74.2 5,190
11,181 25.1 32,929
17,363 54.9,14,176

60. 9|

30,067

171,727

57,677

31,572

16,896
7,201

60,583
56,472
11,807

56,472
11,807
17,867

8,008
10,698
15,609
25,536

37,534

5,900

10,264

16,070

12,701

3,460

15,237

12,846

11,487

6,348

15,482

27. Oi 28.1

24.2 26.5
73.9 78.6
44.9 49.8

38.4 42.5

78.9 7,987 21.0! 24.9
55.4 130,291 42.0 40.0
57.6 39,667 39.6 42.9
39.0 48,463 59.9 69.2

61.5

53.3
50.4
53.4
64.0
91.9
57.2
48.5
44.6
68.4
73.8

57.8'

52.6
56.0
41.8
61.5
68.1
29.5
47.9
48.6
44.9
57.4
59.8

34.0 41.0

14,573
6,999

47,989

16,588
1,034

13,320
8,492

12,887
5,464
9,359

33,025

4,615

14,247

10,034

5,902

8,251

16,490

13,535

14,067

4,719

46.0
49.0
42.3
18.8
8.0
42.7
51.4
53.8,
27.51
24.2

55.7
47.5
49.6
21.0
10.3
47.8
55.6
60.8
39.8
30.7

41.7' 45.1

this County was formed, out
Lowndes counties have had 18
Case No. 3, Chapter IX.

43.8
43.8
58.1
38.4
31.6
70.2
51.9
51.0
55.0
42.6
40.0

48.5

59.1
40.0
35.2
74.6
57.6
53.0
52,7
46.5
42.0

21,8

19.0
19.2
20.3

31.3

29.9
20.8
23.8
29.5

21.5

26.8
12,6
11.4
12.3
33.3
36.0
41.1
15.7
14.0
21.1

29.1

25.6
43.2
35.6
19.7
23.0
37,7
28.7
22,0
39,6
36.5
28.0

er cent
Vifhites

4,5

2.1
1.4
2.5

6.3

9,1
2.2
2.0
1.1

2.9

3.3

2.1

0.9

1.4
11.2
11.5

5.9

1.6

1.0

1.2

5.4

2.3
7.9
4.5
3.6
8.0
4.4
5.2
3.0
6.4
6.1
7.5

of a part of
lynching s c

Pulaski,
ombined since

TABLE XX (Cont'd)

190

ATiite Per

Negro

Number

Popula- Cent

Popula- Per cent

Illiteracy in 1920

STATE and

lynched

tion Vi/hite

tion Negro
1920 1925 '10

Per cent

Covuity

1900-28

1928 1920

Negro

//"hites

KENTUCKY

90.3'

, 3.3

3.2

8.8

0.6

Butler

42,125

96.1

262 0.6 0.6

11.1

0.5

Fulton

11,905

78.3

3,220 21.2 23.8

17.4

3.4

LOUISIANA

167

58.5

38,9 43.1

38.5

10.5

Bossier i

6,455

29.0

15,730 41.1 77.0

42.8

3.7

Caddo

43,837

52.6

37,801 45.4 62.1

21.0

0.8

Ouachita

15,863

52.3

18,897 45.8 54.8

32.7

3.3

Rapides

33,260

56.0

24,992

42.0 48.1

33.7

5.2

Richland

8,714

41.8

11,996

57.5 66.4

41.5

5.4

Tangipohoa

20,372 64.8

8,892

28.3 31.3

33.9

6.6

MISSISSIPPI

266

42.2

52,2

. 46.2

29.3

3,3

Bolivar

9,528

16.5 ■

47,533

82.4

87.4

26.7

2.5

Carroll

8,956

44.1

11,353

55.9

58.2

25.8

1.6

Clarke

10,652

49.4

7,218

40,3

69.8

29.3

3.6

Coahoma

5,820

14.0

35,205

84.8

88.8

29.7

1.4

Desoto

5,878

24.1

18,438

75.7

76.0

35.5

4.1

Harrison

23,869

72.6

7,856

23.9

30.7

16.2

4.3

Jackson

13,884

72.3

4,850

25.2

35.4

20.7

4.0

Kemper

8,410

42.9

11,080

56.5

57.5

30.0

3.9

Lauderdale

26,853

58.5

18,749

40.9

46.6

27.1

2.4

Nev/ton

13,640

65.8

6,957

33.6

38.8

33.8

2.2

Noxobee

4,880

20.6

18,803

79.3

84.0

36.3

1.8

Quitman

4,780

24.1

15,051

75.8

76.5

29.4

3.1

Smith

13,576

83.9

2,594

16.0

17.5

26.1

6.0

Sxinflov/er

11,687

25.2

34,397

74.2

80.9

29.8

3,0

Tallahatchee

10,527

29.3

25,317

70.4

69.4

34.8

2.3

Tunica

2,129

10.4

18,207

89.3

90.7

50.0

4.4

Warren

11,526 34.5

21,313

63.9

69.9

24.2

1.1

Washington

8,783 17.2

41,640

81.5

85.0

33.2

2.0

Yazoo

10,408 28.0

26,627

71.3

76.1

26.7

2.1

MISSOURI*

89.3

5.2

4.8

12.1

2.0

Pemiscot

22,667 85.1

3,865 14.5 7.8

: ^^ ■ — rim

36.1
trr — ^,V-f

7.6

4A i-» 4- y^

the Census divisions of the Country. Only this one county in

Missouri has had as many as six lynchings since 1900, and this county

is located down in the South-east corner of the State on the
Mississippi River,

TABLE XX (Cont'd)

191

.Vhite

Per

Negro

Niunber

Popula-

Cent

Popula-

Per Cent Illiteracy

in 1920

STATE and

lynched

tion

7/hite

tion

Negro

-er Cent Per Cent

County

1900-28

1928 ;

1920

TTO

Negro

■.Vhites

SOUTH

CAROLINA

48.2

51.4'

55.2

29.3 ^

6.5

Aiken Co,

21,425

47.0

23,988

52.6

54.6

28.9

8.1

Orangeburg

22,060

34.0

42,718

65.8

25.7

3.7

TENNESSEE

80.0

19.3

21.7

22.4

7.3

Dyer Co.

24,502

81.7

5,432

18.1

20.5

21.8

6.4

Lake

6,011

66.2

3,051

33.6

37.5

31.3

10,5

Lauderdale

12,540

58.3

8,929

41.5

45.3

32.5

5.3

Marshall

14,277

82.2

3,089

17.8

20.2

23.1

3.4

TEXAS

213

76.3

(

15.9

17,7

17.8

3.0

Brazoria

12,484

60.6

6,574

31.9

46.9

21.8

3.0

Cameron

25*

25,183

68.7

771

2.1

0.3

48.8

20.1

Harrison

16,428

37.7

28,856

61.7

63.6

24.4

0.9

McLennan

60,926

73.5

17,575

21.2

23.5

14.3

1.6

Montgomery

10,474

60.4

6,358

36.7

45.3

20,6

4.1

Sabine

9,520

77.4

2,616

21.3

19.6

26.6

5.2

Walker

8,418

45.4

9,741

52.5

55.3

23.6

3.8

Jefferson

29,687

68.0

19,586

26.8

28.0

22.2

3.2

fill but one lynched in this county since 1900 v/ere Mexicans, The
other was a white man, foreman of a ranch. There are 3,459 native
whites ten years of age and above in the county who are illiterate.
There is a total of 9,578 foreign-born, practically all Mexicans,
in the County, and 4,766 of these were illiterate in 1920.
Harrison Coiinty had a total of 4,783 Negro illiterates in 1920,
Walker County had 1,778 illiterates, and an excess of 1,221
males over females in the total population in 1920,

192

TABLE XXI
SOUTH CAROLINA: LYNCHINGS BY GRIME BY MONTH, 1900-1928

Month M\irder Rape Assault Minor Theft Arson Unknovm Total

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

Axigust

September

October

5(lw)

8(lw)

November

December

Totals

27(lw)

69(lw)

193

total of nine of the 69 victims were accused of a crime
in connection with a white woman - that is with rape,
attempted rape, or an attack upon a white v/oman. Five of
the victims were charged with arson and one with theft.
Combining these with the high ntimber of 12 who were lynched
for a Minor Offense, over 25 per cent of the total were
lynched for what may correctly he terraed a minor crime.

Map VIII shows the dispersion of the 69 lynchings
in South Carolina over the various counties. Two coiinties
have had six or more lynchings since 1900, - Aiken v;ith
seven, and Orangehtirg v/ith eight. One county, Barnwell,
has had four lynchings, and six counties have had three
lyncliings during the period. In Aiken County, on July 20,
1903, two Negroes v/ere lynched for "mistaken identity".
There was not another lynching in this county for more than
18 years. On September 8, 1921, two Negroes v/ere shot to
death by an Aiken County mob. Five years later, on October
8, 1926 a mob stormed the jail, took out Demon Lowman and
his sister. Bertha, and Clarence Lowman, a cousin, and shot
them to death. Judge Latham had just declared Demon Lowman
not guilty on the charge of "conspiracy to murder".

In 1920, as sho';m by Table XX, there were 23,988
Negroes and 21,425 whites in Aiken Coimty. The percentage
Negro population decreased from 54,6 per cent in 1910 to
52,6 per cent in 1920, Of all whites ten years of age and
above, 8,1 per cent, as compared to 6,5 per cent for the
state as a v/hole, could not read and write. Of the Negroes,

;;j::;a3^-

UvTv

195

28,9 per cent were illiterate in 1920 as compared to 29.3
per cent for the state as a whole.

Table XXII shows tliat this state ranlcs lowest
of all the southern states with regard to the amoiint in-
vested in public school property per Negro school child.
Of the $66,02 invested in public school property per school
child for the two races combined, more than 9/lO of the
amount goes to the white children and less than l/lO to the
Negro children. Thus according to the literacy test the
Negro children of Aiken County are apparently provided
for a little better than the average in so far as
educational opportunities are concerned. Possibly there
is only one more county in the state in which a Negro is
in greater danger of being lynched, and in no other county
within recent years has a Negro and those arrested with
him been lynched after a verdict of not guilty of the
charges for which he was arrested.

In Orangeburg Coxinty eight persons have been
lynched since 1900, Here the percentage of Negro popula-
tion is much higher than in Aiken, and the percentage of
illiteracy is lower for both v/hites and Negroes, V/hile
more than 25 per cent of the Negroes are unable to read
and write, only 3.7 per cent of the v/hites are so handi-
capped. In the county 64 per cent of all farms, or a
total of 170,000 acres are tended by 866 native v/hite
tenants and 2,553 Negro tenants. On July 1, 1903, three
Negroes, suspected of murder, v/ere lynched at Norway,

Lji.i'

196

TABLE XXII

INVESTMENT IN PUBLIC SCHOOL PROPERTY PER CHILD OF SCHOOL AGE:

FOR raiTES AND NEGROES

STATE

District of Columbia

Missouri

Deleware

West Virginia

Oklahoma

Kentucky

Maryland

Texas

Virginia

Tennessee

North Carolina

Florida

Arkansas

Alabama

Louisiana

Georgia

Mississippi

South Carolina

WHITES

NEGROES

tl47.00

;i];l27.00

109,46

104.33

93.00

78.00

67,50

59,00

70,53

30.00

35.00

29.00

59.30

25.00

79.88

23.20

73.83

23.10

35.53

19.00

52.08

12.90

78.22

12.80

32.23

9.00

40.92

8.70

74.24

8.20

48.02

7.00

32.57

6.00

60.12

5.90

(Compiled by Tuskegee Institute).

00 »v

■y;^

197

Orangeburg County* Six years later two Negroes v/ere lynch-
ed at Branchville, charged with murder. In December, 1912,
Henry Fitts was lynched in Norway for "refusal to pay a
note". In 1914, July 13, Rose Carson v/as lynched for Mvirder,
She was the second of the three v/oraen lynched in South
Carolina since 1900, the first being a llrs, Wideman, of
Greenwood County, who was lynched with her husband on
December 27, 1902, charged with miirder. The last lynching
in Orangeburg Coujity occurred in 1924, On April 12 of
that year Luke Adams, accused of attacking a white woman,
"was fotind lynched". He had met his death "at the hands
of parties unknown" - to the coroner's jury, probably,

Kentucky

A relatively high proportion of the persons lynch-
ed in Kentucky have been whites. Of the total 59 Negroes
lynched in that state since 1900, more than 1/3 were
charged with murder, while about 18 per cent of the total
n;araber lynched, and about 23 per cent of the Negroes, were
charged with rape, or attacks upon v/hlte women. The crime
of 12 Negroes and eight white men lynched in Kentucky is
not known, v/hile eight Negroes and five whites have been
lynched for minor offenses, such as "expressing sympathy
with a Negro v/ho had been lynched", "making threats", and
"forcing white boy to commit a crime". Table XXIII shows
that about one-half of all lynchings in Kentucky have
occurred in October, November and April, Four of the
whites lynched in October for a Minor Offense were the

■10 ,^

■y-ror'

198

TABLE XXIII
ICENTUCKY: LYNCHINGS BY CRIME AND BY MONTH, 1900 to 1928

Month Murder Rape Assault Minor Theft Arson Unknovm Total

January

February

2(lw)

March

April

May

Jujie

July

2(lw)

August

September

4(lw)

October

6(5w)

November

2(lw)

December

Total

25 (4w)

2(lv/)

20 (8w)

77(18w)

ui Wt

(.1
0

II-

199

the Wallace family, in Hickory Grove, in 1908, for "mak-
ing threats".

Map IX shows that the lynching of Negroes in
Kentucky has been largely restricted to the western half
of the state. In Shelby Coiinty, in the North-central part
of the state five persons have been, lynched since 1900, In
the psychological sense of the term there have been however,
only two lynchings in this county. On October 2, 1901, two
Negroes were lynched at or near Shelbyville, for murder.
There was not again such a mob episode until January 15,
1911, when three Negroes were lynched near Shelbyville;
one was charged with murder, and two v/ith "insulting white
women". For more than 17 years there has not been a
lynching in Shelby County, Kentucky,

Povir ujilcnown whites v/ere lynched at Campton, in
Wolfe County, for an unknown cause on April 15, 1911, Since
this time the county has been free from this type of mob
action. The four persons lynched in Simpson County were
the Wallaces referred to above, Ballard County has had
five persons lynched since 1900, but no lynchings for the
past 12 years. In 1901 three Negroes were lynched for
Lfurder, and two years later another for the same cause.
In 1915 a white man, named Molindro, v/aa lynched at Love-
laceville for an unknown cause, Logan County has had one

6, Through an extensive correspondence, mostly but not al-
togehter one-sided, the v/riter has been unable to obtain
any further details of the fate of this man, wife, and
tv/o children*

TVV

MAP IX

200

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:r!_ii n

E-x

• i

MARSH

IvT ^><^

1 •-\/^^"^ ^^^

°-^s —

(ENTUCK

SCALE -STATUTE MILES

•

• r7%< #A'\ >^ If

> VliW -— f T ^\*

S. /-' toS ^i / i\ j^ "^X

-i\ KEN

^^^t

-X y-^ .arY^.,o9/vv.^..,2rv I $f

15^

201

lynching but foior persons lynched since 1900, On August
1, 1908, apparently as a result of an emotional transfer
from a murderer to whom they could not get access, a mob
of men lynched four Negroes at Russellville for "expressing
sympathy v/ith the murderer of a white man,"

Two counties in Kentuclry have had six or more
persons lynched since 1900, Pulton with six and Butler with
10, All of those lynched in Butler County were Negroes,
They were lynched on a single occasion in 1908 by "night
riders" for "an unknovm cause" near Rochester, in the
western part of the county. Thus in this county with a
high proportion of literacy for both whites and Negroes,
and a small proportion of Negro population, there has
not been a lynching for the past 20 years.

Pulton County, on the other hand, has a Negro
population of 3,220 or 21,2 per cent of the total. The
six lynchings in this county occurred over a period of
16 years. In February, 1920, a Negro v/as lynched at
Pulton for "suspected murder", and another two months
later for Murder, Two years later, at Hickman, a Negro
was lynched for "alleged rape" after which there v/as not
another episode of this nature in the county for more than
a decade. On September 10, 1915, Claude Johnson, v/hite,
was lynched at Hickman for Murder, Two years later, on
May 20, Lawrence Dempsey, v/hite, v/as lynched at Fulton for
"murderous assault". On December 16, 1918, the last

202

lynching in Pulton Gotmty occurred v/hen Charles Lewis
was lynched at Hickman "for beating the Sheriff",

During the past ten years Kentucky has had
seven lynchings, the last of v/hich occiirred in 1927, at
Whitesburg in Letcher County, On November 30, Leonard
Woods, alleged slayer of a mine foreman, was lynched by
a mob said to have been composed of citizens of Kentucky
and Virginia, The Negro v/as taken out of tov/n, hanged,
and his body riddled with shots by many members of the mob.

Tennessee

Tennessee ranks eighth as to the ntunber of persons
lynched since 1900 with a total of 85, eight of whom were
v/hite. One of the white men was lynched for an unknown
cause, tv/o for rape, and five for miirder. Table XXIV
shows that about 42 per cent of the total number lynched
have been charged with murder, and that a relatively
high proportion have been charged with Rape, Y/hile no
lyncliings have occurred in this state as a result of
Arson, eight persons have been lynched for Theft, and
eight for minor offenses such as "making threats", "aid-
ing in the escape of a murderer", and "testifying for one
of his own race". The highest ntimber lynched met that
fate in October,

Map X shov/s the dispersion of the lynchings in
Tennessee over the various coiuities, A majority of the
total have occurred in the v/estern part of the state along

203

TABLE XXIV
TENNESSEE: LYNCHINGS BY CRIEffi AND BY MONTH, 1900 to 1928

Month Murder Rape Assault Minor Theft Arson Unknown Total

January

February

March

April

2(lw)

May

June

July

2(lw)

August

September

October

7(3w)

November

December

Totals 36(5w) 26(2w) 2 8 8 0 5(lw) 85(8wj

205

the Mississippi River, Four counties have had six or •
more persons lynched since 1900. Three of these border
on the Mississippi River, - Lake, Dyer, and Lauderdale,
Marshall County, in Middle Tennessee, has had seven
lynchings since 1900, but none since 1903, At Caney
Springs, on January 9, 1900, four Negroes were lynched
for Theft, In November, 1902, one was lynched at Lewis-
bvirg charged v/ith murder. In the following August the
last lynching in the County occxirred at Lewisburg v/hen
two unlcnown Negroes were lynched for unknov/n offenses,
Marshall is now one of the leading counties in the state
in v/ealth and in other respects. It is a diversified
farming section with a population of 14,277 whites and
3,089 Negroes, Only 3,4 per cent of the whites as com-
pared to 7.3 per cent for the state as a whole are
illiterate,

Bedford County borders Marshall on the east.
On February 19, 1912, three Negroes were lynched in
Bedford for Murder, There have been three lynchings in
Franklin County, which is South-east of Marshall. One
of these was that of a Negro in 1901 for Murder. In
1918 occurred the last lynchings in the County v/hen, en
February 10, a Negro was lynched for "aiding a colored
man in escape", and, on February 12, Jim Mcllheron, Negro,
was tarred and feathered, then burned at Estill Springs,
He v/as charged with having wounded tv/o v/hite men v/lth
whom he had previously had "trouble". With the exception

s^il

, jl;b3

206

of this outbreak, practically all of the lynchings in
Tennessee during th*e past tv/enty years have occurred in
the western counties along the Mississippi River,

Dyer Covin ty has a population of 24,502 whites
and 5,452 Negroes, The percentage of Negro population
decreased from 20,5 per cent in 1910 to 18,1 per cent in
1920, Illiteracy in the county for both whites and
Negroes is belov/ the average for the state as a v/hole«
This county has had six lynchings since 1900, scattered
over a period of 16 years, Tv/o of the six lynched in the
county were charged v/ith murder, tv/o v/ith rape, one with
attempted rape, and one with "shooting an officer". There
has not been a lynching in Dyer County for the past twenty
years.

In Lauderdale County, which ranks higher in the
ntimber of lynchings since 1900 has not had an outbreak
of this type of mob violence since 1906. Of the seven
lynchings in this county four occiirred in 1900, two for
Murder, one for "aiding in escape of murderer", and one
"for testifying for a member of his own race". These
lynchings were all within the vicinity of Ripley, where
in 1903 another Negro was lynched for Miirder, and in
1904 another as a result of "race prejudice". The last
lynching in Lauderdale was that of George Estes at Hales
Point, in the northern end of the county, on October 29,
1906, charged v/ith miirder. In 1910 the proportion of
Negro population in Lauderdale v/as the highest of any
county in the state, being 45,3 per cent. In 1920 there

207

were 8,929 Negroes and 12,450 whites being thus a de-
crease of the proportion Negro population to 41»5 per
cent. VvTaile only 5,3 per cent of the whites as compared
to 7,3 per cent for the state as a whole vieve illiterate,
32,5 per cent of the Negroes or 10 per cent more than the
average for the state were illiterate.

In Lake County, on the other hand, where the
proportion of Negro population is much lower than in
Lauderdale there has been a total of nine lynchings since
1900, more than in any other county of the state, V/hile
there was in 1920 a lov/er percentage of illiteracy among
the Negroes of Lake than of Lauderdale County, a total of
10,5 per cent of all whites in this covmty were illiterate.
Of the nine persons lynched in Lake County since 1900 one
was a wliite man, Issac Fitzgerald, charged with rape, at
Tiptonville, on March 17, 1901, In 1900 a Negro was
lynched for Robbery, and in 1907 two were lynched "for
fighting a v/hite man". On November 24, 1908, three
Negroes were lynched at Tiptonville for Murder, and in
1910 two for "attempted rape", -^'his was the last lynching
in the county, which is located just across the River
from Pemiscot County, Missouri, which had its last lynch-
ing in 1927,

Shelby Coxinty, Tennessee, has had six lynchings
since 1900, the last of which occurred on September 28,
1927: "The bullet-riddled body of Thomas V/illiams, alleged
to have attacked a fifty-year old v/hite woman, was found

208

In Pleasant Union Churchyard, two miles from the scene
of the crime" - near Memphis, During the 28 years no
East Tennessee County has had more than one lynching.
Of the seven lynchings which have occxirred in this sec-
tion, five were for llixrder, one for Rape, and one "for
making threats". The last lynching in this section of
the state occurred in 1921 when Berry Bowling, white,
was hanged by a mob on May 7, 1921, at Huntsville, for
an unlcnown offense.

It is notable that of the total 85 lynchings
in Tennessee since 1900, 36 occurred before 1908, Duj?-
ing the past 20 years Tennessee has had a total of 49
lynchings; and driring the past decade, 15, On the other
hand there have been ten persons lynched in this state
since 1920, Moreover, in addition to the situation
described in the Case in Chapter IX - "The Burning of
Ell Person" - which could hardly be totally alleviated
v/ithin a short while, the lynching record in Tennessee
during the past year indicates that this state is not
yet free from mob violence. Two of the three Negroes
lynched in 1927 were taken from jails. On June 17,
Sheriff T. D. Caldwell was killed by Joseph Upchurch at
Paris, in Henry County, A Deputy Sheriff placed Upchurch
in a cabin which was "riddled with bullets by a posse of
about 50 men," Some of the bullets hit and killed the
Negro,

7. For a further analysis of Shelby County lynchings see
Chapter IX, Case No. 10.

209

The last lynching in Tennessee v/as that of
Henry Choate, 18 years old, on Armistice Day, 1927,
Choate, alleged to have attacked a white girl, "was taken
from the jail by a hand of 250 men", and, like young
Lynch of Galway long ago, was hanged from the second story
windov: of the courthouse building.

210

CHAPTER VIII

LYNCHINGS BY STATE AND BY COUNTIES:
THE MAJOR LYI^CHING STATES

It has been noted that in seven southern states,
- Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama,
and Arkansas - there has been a total of 1,348 persons
lynched since 1900, This number constitutes 62 per cent
of all lynchings in the Nation and 78 per cent of all in
the South, Three of these states, - Georgia, Mississippi
and Texas, have had between 200 and 300 lynchings; and the
other four, more than 100 each during this period* Thus
we have called these the "Major Lynching States" as dis-
tinguished from those having less than 100 persons
lynched during the past 28 years. In these states there
are 339 coiinties in which no lynching has been recorded
since 1900 while in 60 counties of the seven states there
have been six or more persons lynched during the period.
In these counties a total of 553 persons have met death
at the hands of mobs during the Tv/entieth Century.

211

Arkansas

In this group of Major Lynching States Arkansas
rariks seventh, with a total of 124 mob victims since
1900« This number does not include the victims of the
Elaine Race Riots, the ntunber of which is not known.
Map XI shows that the lyncbings in Arkansas have been
largely concentrated in the southern and eastern portions
of the state. More than 90 per cent of all lynchlngs in
Arkansas have occurred in the South-eastern half of the
state. The counties in which the highest number of
lynchlngs has occurred are those along the Mississippi
River, and to a lesser degree along the southern end of
the state from east to west,

Arkansas Coiinty has had the largest number of
persons lynched since 1900, but only three lynching
episodes. Of the 15 persons lynched in this county, 13,
all Negro men, were lynched on the same day, March 26,
1904, The cause of this lynching, according to the re-
ports, was "race prejudice". There was not another lynching
in the county for more than 12 years. On August 9, 1916
an unnamed Negro was lynched at Stuttgart for Rape, On
October 9, of the same year, the last recorded lynching
in this county occurred when Frank Dodd, a Negro, was
lynched at Dewitt for "attempted rape".

In 1910 the proportion Negro of the total
population of Arkansas County was 26,5 per cent. In 1920

fl'X

'}r

i-'ze.

7.1 a.-

liv:

213

there had been a slight drop to 24.2 per cent. At this
time there were 5,190 Negroes and 15,944 whites, 'Ahite
males were more than 1,000 in excess to females, and
there were also more Negro males than females. In 1920
the proportion of illiterate Negroes and v/hites in
Arkansas County was less than that for the state as a
whole. The farms in this county are relatively few and
large. It is the great rice section of the state, where
a majority of the Negroes on farms are day laborers who
come in close contact v/ith few white men. In this county,
which is one of the largest in the state, there are only
666 white tenants and 356 Negro tenants. There has not
been a lynching in the county for 12 years.

In Phillips County there have been six persons
lynched since 1900, The last lynching was that of a
Negro on June 16, 1927 at Helena, Owen Fleming, charged
with having killed a white man who tried to force him to
work while sick, was shot to death by a posse of about
200 white men.

The only other county in the state which has
had six persons lynched since 1900 is Hempstead, These
lynchings were scattered over a period of 17 years, the
last having occurred in 1922, On April 20, 1905 a Negro
was lynched at Spring Hill for JTurder and four years
later, on January 18, a Negro v/as lynched at Hope for
"insulting white girl". On October 20, 1911 a Negro was
lynched at Hope for "insulting women"; and another, on

214

June 15, 1915 for Murder, The last lynching in Hem-
stead County occurred on July 28, 1922 at Guernsey v/hen
John West was lynched as a result of a quarrel between
a white man and himself over a drinking cup,

Ashley County has had five lynchings since 1900,
the last of which occurred in 1927, On February 19, 1904
at Crossett - a sawmill town - a Negro was lynched for
Murder and on September 5, another for "assaulting whites".
In 1908 the only lynctiing in the state was at Parkdale,
Ashley County, Earnest Williams was thrust into eternity
by a band of men who were "outraged" at him for "using
offensive language"'. On May 30, 1909 a Negro was lynched
at Portland for Murder, The last lynching in Ashley
County occurred on August 26, 1927, Winston Pounds was
"taken from a posse of deputy sheriffs" and hanged to a
tree one and a half miles from Wilmot, charged with having
"attacked a yoimg married woman".

Table XXV shov/s the total lynchings in Arkansas
since 1900 by crime, by race, and by month. Of the total
124 lynchings during the period 23 occurred in March, 14
in October, 12 in August, 12 in May and 10 in June, The
high mark in March is explained by the Arkansas County
episode on March 26, 1904 when 13 Negroes were lynched as
a result of "race prejudice". With this exception the
high lynching months are, as is rather general in the

1. New ¥ork World, August 27, 1927.

215

TABLE XXV
ARKANSAS: LYNCHINGS BY CRIME AND BY MONTH, 1900-1928

Month M\xrder Rape Assault Minor Theft Arson Unlcnown Total

January

2(lw)

February

March

4(lw)

April

4(lw)

May

June

5(lw)

July

August

2(lw)

September

October

November

5(2w)

December

2(lw)

l*w

5(lw)

. 1

39(7w) 26 11 33(2w) 4(lw*) 2 9 124(10w)

* This white man was charged with "highway robbery".

216

southern states. May and June, then August and October.
A relatively low proportion of those lynched in Arkansas
have been charged with Murder, 31,5 per cent. About 21
per cent of the total number were charged with rape, alleg-
ed rape, attack upon a woman, or "assaulting white woman".
Combining the number lynched for Theft (3) and Arson (2)
with those lynched for a Minor Offense, we have 38 or 30,6
per cent of the total. Minor Offense in Arkansas includes
such "crimes" as "race prejudice", "insulting white women",
"using offensive language", "disloyal remarks", "strike
breaker" and "eloping with a v;hite girl".

During the last decade Arkansas has had 34 lynch-
ings; and in the past five years, nine. Two of the three
lynchings in the state in 1927 have been mentioned. The
other was that of John Garter, on May 5, 1927, Carter, a
feeble-minded Negro, was accused of "assault of a white
woman and her daughter". He was hanged by a mob several
miles out of Little Rock after which his body was tied to
an automobile, dragged throvigh the streets, then saturated
with gasoline, hanged to a telephone pole on one of the
principal corners of the "Negro Section" and burned,

Alabama

In addition to being noted for pig-iron, child
labor and illiteracy, Alabajna ranlcs sixth among all states
of the Nation in the number of persons lynched since 1900,
Table JvXVI shows the number lynched by race, by crime and

217

TABLE XXVI
ALABAMA: CRIIvIES BY MONTH, WHITE AND NEGRO, 1900-1928

Month

Murder

Rape

Assault

Minor

Theft

Arson

Unknown

Total

January-

5(lw)

3(2w)

February

March

April

May

June

2(lw)

July

August

September

5(lw)

Kw)

October

November

December

45(3w)

23 (Iw)

7(2w) :

L29(6w)

218

by month during this period. There have been 15 lynch-
ings in January and August, 14 in Novemher, 12 in October,
11 in May, July and September, and 10 in March. The total
of 129 is about equally divided among the four seasons
of the year, the highest nvmber coming in the fall 'with a
total of 37. The crime for which 45 were lynched was
Murder - about 35 per cent of the total. It is notable
that in Alabama 42, or 32 per cent of the total have been
lynched for Rape, Ten, all Negroes, were lynched for
Assault, The crime of seven, including two v/hite men,
is not known. One was lynched for Arson and one for
Theft, while 23 were lynched for Minor Offenses. In
Alabama this group includes such "crimes" as "race pre-
judice", "mule poisoning", "threats to kill", and "creat-
ing a disturbance".

Map XII shows that one- third of the lynchings
in Alabama have occurred in four counties, - Covington,
Jefferson, Mobile and Montgomery. These counties with a
total of 33 lynchings are the only ones that have had
more than six persons lynched since 1900, according to
the records. In Covington County nine persons have been
lynched, over a period of 20 years. Three of the number
were "unknown Negroes" lynched on the same day, December
6, 1901, because of "race prejudice". On February 20,
1906 a Negro was lynched at Andalusia for Rape, and on
April 29 another at Rienzi for M-urder, The other four
were lynched in 1907, 1910, 1918 and 1920, all for Rape,

219

10 20 30 'to SO

i«

V -.i*

220

Two were charged with rape, one with "assault of a white
woman", and the last. Jack Waters, "was found hanging to
a telephone pole riddled with bullets. He was lynched
after an alleged attack upon a white woman."

The Negro population of Alabama is concentrated
through the South-central part of the state. It is notable
that three of the counties with more than six lynchlngs
lie outside this area, Covington, for example is one of
the southern border counties. In 1910 the Negro population
of Covington County was 24,9 per cent while in 1920 it had
decreased to 21,0 per cent. At this time there v/as a
smaller percentage of illiteracy among the 7,987 Negroes
of the county than among the Negroes of Alabama as a v/hole,
while 9,1 of the v/hites ten years of age and above as
compared to 6.5 per cent for the state were Illiterate,

Jefferson County lies north of the Alabama "Black
Belt" Prom 1910 to 1920 there was an increase of 2 per cent
in the proportion of Negro population, no doubt due to the
large influx of Negroes into Birmingham during late years.
Illiteracy Is relatively lov; for both whites and Negroes,
There have been eight lynchlngs in this county since 1900,

On May 11, 1901 an unknown Negro was lynched at
Leeds, by mistake. On August 2 of the same year and at
the same place, Charles Bentley v;as lynched for Murder,
There was not another lynching in Jefferson County for more
than six years, when on September 3, 1907 Jerry Johnson
was lynched near Birmingham for Rape, On August 6 of the

221

next year a Negro was lynched at Brighton "for dynamit-
ing". On April 25, 1909 a Negro named Thomas v/as lynch-
ed near Birmingham for Rape, The next lynching in the
county was that of a white man, John Candler, at Bessamer
on January 28, 1912 for Murder, On the following November
2, at Bessamer, William Smith was lynched for Murder, The
last lynching in Jefferson County occiirred in 1923, Will
McBride was arrested on a charge of "assault". Some school
children had seen him walking along the road and had be-
come frightened at him. There being no evidence against
the 60 year old Negro of good reputation, he was dis-
missed by the Judge, on July 12, That night he was taken
from bed in his home and beaten to death by a mob of
"unlcnown men".

Mobile County has had six lynchings since 1900,
On October 6, 1906, two Negroes were lynched at Prichard
for Rape, and on the following September another was
lynched for attempted rape. On January 22, 1909 Doviglass
Robertson was lynched for Murder, and another Negro v/as
lynched at /ocis on August 1, 1910 for Rape, There was not
another lynching in this county for nine years, v/hen the
last one occurred on June 6, 1919 at Prichard, There was
"trouble" between white and colored v/orkers in a cotton
mill, and James E. Lewis, Negro, was shot by a group of
white men,^

2, Birmingham News, Jxine 8, 1919,

222

Montgomery County, with a Negro population of
48,463, or 59,9 per cent of the total, lias had more
lynchings than any other Alabajna County since 1900, This
county is located in the heart of the Alabama "Black Belt"
but several other counties have a higher proportion of
Negro population. There are eight counties in the state
with more than 75 per cent Negro population - and in these
counties combined there has been only 15 lynchings dviring
the past 28 years. Three Alabama Counties - Hale, Meringo
and Perry - have a Negro population of between 62,5 per
cent and 75 per cent. In only one of these has there been
a lyncMng since 1900, In Meringo County, at Magnolia, on
December 20, 1909 Clinton Montgomery was lynched for M\irder,
By Comparing Map XII with the population map of Alabama
(Vol, III, 1920 Census Report) it is readily seen that
there is a closer correlation between the number of
lynchings and a Negro population of 12,5 per cent to 50
per cent than between the number of lynchings and a
Negro population of more than 50 per cent, Montgomery
County is the only one v/ith more than 50 per cent Negro
population that has had as many as five lynchings since
1900, Among the 39,0 per cent white population in the
county only 1,1 per cent of those ten years of age and
above are illiterate, while 29,5 per cent of the Negroes
are thus handicapped.

It is interesting to trace the lynching history
of this county for the past 40 years. The first lynching

223

recorded was in 1890 when "a desperado" met death at Mont-
gomery, Between this date and 1897 three Negroes and one
white man were lynched at or near Montgomery, all charged
with murder. There was not another lynching in the county
for 13 years, when John Dell was lynched at Montgomery,
on October 9, 1910 for Murder, Then in 1915, on August
17, at Hope Hull three Negroes were lynched for "poison-
ing mules". On September 29, 1919 three more were shot
at Montgomery, There had been a "rov/" following a dance,
and Policeman John Barbere attempted to arrest three
Negroes, One of them named Temple resisted the arrest
and, after first being v/ounded by the policeman, shot him.
Temple v/as shot to death in a hospital that night by a
band of 25 whites, and the other two were taken from the
officers on the way to the State Prison at 7/etumka, and
shot. The charges against the Negroes as reported in
the "New York Sun" was "assaulting white women". In 1920,
at Legrande, V/ilbur Smith, alleged to have attacked a 6
year old white girl, had been arrested by a citizen who
was taking him to jail. Six "masked men forced the
citizen" to give up the Negro who was taken to the woods
and shot to death. Two years later, on October 3, 1922
John Brown was taken from his home at Montgomery and
lynched by a mob; for what crime it is not known,

Dxjring the past decade 25, and during the past
five years three lynchings have occTirred in Alabama, The
last lynching in the state v/as in Montgomery County, On

224

December 15, 1925 at Montgomery, "incensed over an Insult
by him to a white woman. Grant Cole was shot to death
by unidentified parties. Progressive deterioration in
lawlessness: first they lynched for murder; then
"masked men" and "unidentified parties" lynched for "un-
known offenses" and "insults",

Florida

Florida has been one of the leading states in
the number of persons lynched as far back as statistics
are available. Since 1889 there have been 232 lyncliings
in this state, including 19 white men, and three Negro
women. During the past 28 years there have been 156
lynchings in the state, including 12 v/hites and 144
Negroes, three of whom were v/omen. During the past
decade there have been 56 lynchings in Florida, and for
the past five years, 26,

Table XXVII shows that the majority of lynchings
in Florida since 1900 have occurred in the spring and
summer months. The highest number happened in July and it
was in this month also that the highest number of persons
were lynched for Minor Offenses, The highest niimber
lynched for Mvirder met that fate in May with 13 Negroes
and one white. It is notable that of the total 156
lynched since 1900, 81, or about 51 per cent were charged
with Murder, This number included 66 2/3 per cent of the
whites. One white man was lynched for Rape, one for

225

TABLE XXVII
FLORIDA: LYWCHINGS BY CRIME BY MONTH, 1900 to 1928
Month Murder Rape Assault Minor Theft Arson Unlcnown Total

January

February

March

7(2w)

April

5(2w)

May

14(lw)

June

July

August

11 (Iw)

September

10(2w)

October

2(lw)

Kiw)

November

l(w)

December

4(lw)

Totals

81 (8w)

35 (Iw)

5(lw)

22 (Iw)

12(lw)

156(12)

^ A "desperado".

226

Assault, and one for a Minor Offense - "refusing in-
formation". Thirty-five of the total nvtraber or 22 per

cent v/ere lynched for attempted rape, alleged rape, attacks

upon white v/omen/alleged assault upon white women.

Twelve of the number lynched in Florida were for
an "unknow cause". Combining this number v/ith those lynch-
ed for a minor charge v/e have a nvimber equal to that of
those lynched for Rape, or 22 per cent of the total. The
Minor Offenses for which men have been lynched in Florida
include such "crimes" as "refusing information", "popular
prejudice", "refusal to give up farm" and "bringing his
mother to tov;n after she had been flogged for selling
whiskey,"

Map XIII shov/s the lynchings in Florida since
1900 by county. Practically every county in the state has
had one or more lynchings, and 10 cotmties have had six
or more during this period. One of these counties has had
13 persons lynched during the period and another 12; one
has had nine; tv/o, eight lynchings, and three, seven
lynchings. The total for these counties is 83, not count-
ing all of the victims of the race riot at Oconee on
November 2, 1920,

Table XXVTII shows the lynchings in Florida in
the counties having six or more since 1900, by county,
by race and by crime. Also the date of each lynching by
county is given, A glance at the Table indicates that in
some of the counties the lynchings are scattered over many

228

TABLE XXVIII

LYNCHIHGS IN FLORIDA BY COU?flY AND BY CRIME, 1900-1928

Numi-

County

ber

Date

ALACHUA

1
6

9/1/02

1/15/04

3/5/O8

7/21/15

8/19/16

1
1

1/25/23
12/27/26

COLUMBIA

11/27/00

5/21/11

11/28/19

Crime for v/hlch lynched

DUVAL

HILLSBORO

1
2

5/9/09
9/8/19
8/24/23

1 12/29/23

1 12/30/23

1 12/5/03

2 3/7/10
1 3/8/10
2w 9/20/10
1 4/15/12

at Newberry for Murder.

at High Springs, for rape,

at Newberry, for niurder,

at Trenton, "popular prejudice",

at Nev/berry, tv/o women and four

men, "alleged accessory to

murder".

at Newberry, cattle stealing.

at Ti/aldo, attempt to collect

debt

at Lake City, "murderous assault",
at Lake City, "murder".
Ten miles out of Lake City, "alleg-
ed to have insulted a young white
woman," "foujid lynched".

Duval Co, for Rape.

at Jacksonville, Murder.

at Jacksonville, "suspected of

peeping into window of young

girl". According to reports

received at the Sheriffs office

later Indicated innocence.

Near Jacksonville, "victim of

death code oj^" the Duval County

moonshiners.

Same as victim of Dec. 29th.

Near Tampa, attempted rape,
Tampa for murder.
Tampa for murder.
Tampa" attempted mtirder".
Near Tampa for Murder,

229

Num-

County

ber

Date

HOLMES

2
4

1
Iw

7/30/10
8/2/10
7/7/13
4/16/16

JACKSON

1
1

6/10/00
6/10/00

1
1
1

7/1/05
9/2/10
9/2/10

3/5/11

MADISON

2
Iw

1
1
1

1/7/01
3/19/03
II/9/O6
2/2/08
3/13/19

MARION

ORANGE

TABLE XXVIII (Cont'd)

Crime for v/hlch lynched

1
1
1
1
1
1

12/5/22

1/16/01
11/14/12
11/19/12
2/17/15
1/28/19
1/12/26

8/12/15

11/2/20

Same

At Bonifay, Murder.

At Bonifay, "Complicity in I.^tirder".

At Bonifay, Rape.

At Bonifay, Murder.

At Sneads, "suspected murder".
At Sneads, "Complicity in

mtirder . "
At Cottondale, Murder.
At Graceville, Murder,
At Graceville, complicity in

murder,
^t Marianna, "threats to kill".

At Madison, for Murder.
At Madison, for Murder.
At Madison, for Rape.
At Greenville, "suspected murder".
At Greenville, shooting a Watch-
man.
At Madison, a Negro was lynched
by a mob; no charges were given.

At Dunnelon, "trainwrecking".

At Ocala, for Murder.

At Ocala, for Murder, '

At Sparr, "insulting v/omen".

At Ocala, Rape.

18 miles out of Ocala. He had

been jailed on suspicion in

connection with attack on a white

woman.

At Osceola, first lynchirig in
Orange Co. since 1892. Murder.
At Oconee, shooting tv/o men after
they had refused to let him vote.
Burned to death in a house set
after shooting referred to above.
(See Chapter IX).

» -t

b-y:..

LSA

3 TiK

230

TABLE XXVIII (Cont»d)

County

POLK

Niom-
ber

Date

Crime for which lynched

11/26/25 At Orlando, wounded detectives.

1
1

1
2

1
1
1
1
1

1
1

6/27/00

5/30/01

5/3/03

5/20/03

5/20/04

8/21/06

2/13/09

7/9/10

5/9/20

3/14/21
12/20/25

At Mulberry, for Mtirder,

At Bartow, for Murder,

At Mulberry, Muxder,

At Mulberry, for Murder,

At Mulberry, "unknown offense",

"murderous assault",
for Rape,

"attempted murder",
Negro porter on the
was accused of in-
sulting a Y/hite woman. Taken
from train; later "taken" from
officers and shot.
At Eagle Lalce, hanged for un-
knovm crime.
At Haines City, Murder,

At Mulberry,
At Lakeland,
At Kathleen,
At Lakeland,
A. C. L, Ry,

231

years while in others there were several lynchings near
the beginning of the Century with few since that time.
Still other counties had no lynchings until near the
the middle of the period but have had them rather regular-
ly since then.

In Alachua County, for example, the first lynch-
ing was in 1902 for Murder, The last lynching in the
county was that of George Budding ton near Waldo, on Decem-
ber 27, 1926, A white woman accused him of drav/ing a pistol
in an attempt to collect an alleged debt from her for v/hlch
he was locked in jail, "Unknown parties" broke the lock,
took the 55 year old Negro several miles from town and shot
him to death,

Columbia County had its first lynching of the
Century in November, 1900, when a white man met death for
"murderous assault". There was not another outbreak of
mob violence until 1911, On May 21 of that year six Negroes
were lynched for murder. It was more than eight years be-
fore the next, and last, lynching in the county. On
November 28, 1919 Sam Mosely was lynched about 10 miles
south of Lake City "by a party of young men enraged at an
insult alleged to have been made upon a young white woman
of Coltunbia County."

The first lynching in Duval County was in 1909
for Rape, and the second Y/as that of two Negroes lynched
in 1919 at Jacksonville for M\irder, The last thj?ee lynch-
ings in the coxinty occiirred in 1923, One of the victims.

232

thought later to have been entirely Innocent, was "sus-
pected of peeping into the 'bedroom of a girl". On
December 29, near Jacksonville, "the headless body of
Edgar Phillips v/as found in a creek. He was said to have
been the victim of a 'death code' of Duval County moon-
shiners." On the following day, near Jacksonville, Exigene
Burnam was shot to death by a band of white men. He v/as
said also to have been a victim of the "death code" of the
moonshiners,

IZ'he seven lynchings in Hillsboro County were
scattered over the nine year period ending in 1912, The
first lynching in the county was for Rape, The other
five were for Murder, including two whites lynched for
"attempted murder".

Seven of the eight lynchings in Holmes County

one
have been for Murder, and/for Rape. The last lynching

in the county occurred in 1916, One-third of the 1,034

Negroes, and 11,2 per cent of the 11,807 whites in the

county were illiterate in 1920,

Of the six persons lynched in Jackson County,

two met that fate in 1900, on June 10, v/hen one was

lynched for ' suspected murder" and another for "complicity

in mxirder". Five years later, on July 1, Do.c Peters was

lynched at Cottondale for Murder, In 1910 two Negroes

were lynched, one for Murder and the other for "complicity".

Six months later, on March 5, 1911 Galvin Baker was lynched

for "threats to kill", Jackson has the highest illiteracy

^ji;ix_

r r t~,

... •.. v.. ,

233

rate for whites and next to the highest for Negroes of
any county listed in Table XX, There is a Negro popu-
lation of 13,320 and a white population of 17,867, In
1910 the Negro population was 47,8 per cent of the total,
while in 1920 this percentage had dropped to 42,7, There
has not been a lynching in this county for the past
seventeen years.

In Madison County the first two lynchings since
1900 were for Murder, then one for Rape and another for
"suspected murder". Eleven years later, in 191S, a Negro
was lynched for "shooting a watchman". The last lynching
in the county occurred on December 5, 1922, at Madison
when "Cupid Dickson was lynched by a mob. No charge was
alleged," More than 50 per cent of the population of the
county is black, and 41.1 per cent of these cannot read
or v/rite their nar.ies.

In Marion County, on the other hand, with a
higher proportion of Negro population but with a much
smaller percentage of illiteracy, white and black, there
has been the sam.e niimber of lynchings as recorded for
Madison, seven. The first lynching in Marion County since
1900 was for "trainv/recking", and the next two for Murder;
then one for "insulting v/oraen" in 1915, and another for
Rape in 1921, The last lynching in the county occurred on
January 12, 1926, "A band of masked men took Nick Williams
from two officers, bundled him into an automobile and
lynched him at a lonely spot 18 miles from Ocala, William.s

234

had been jailed on suspicion in connection v/ith an attack
on a white woman near the spot where he was lynched.
When seized he was being taken to a hospital to be 'identi-
fied by the womsLn."'^

Six of the nine persons lynched in Orange County
met that fate in 1920, and the last person lynched there
was Arthur Henry, on November 26, 1925. He had been
arrested and placed under guard at the Orange General
Hospital; was seized by three unknov/n men and carried off.
The men disarmed a policeman who was on guard. Later he
was found shot to death, " Henry was alleged to have woxind-
ed two detectives when they went into the Negro section to
investigate a shooting affray."*^

The 12 lynchings in Polk County were scattered
over a period of 25 years, beginning in 1900, For the
first fovir years of the period as many Negroes were
lynched, one for an "unknovm offense", one for "murderous
assault", one for Rape, and one for "attempted murder".
There was not another lynching until April 9, 1920, On
that date "an unidentified Negro porter on an Atlantic
Coast Line Train, who was charged by a white woman
passenger v/ith having insulted her, was taken from the
train by a mob; an officer was sent back from Bartow,
Florida to get the Negro, He was overtaken by three
automobiles. The Negro taken from him and shot to death."*

3. Supplement to the "Thirty Years Lynching", NiiACP,

4, Eleventh Annual Report, NAACP, 1920, p. 36,

235

The last lynching in Polk County occurred on December 20,
1925, when a Negro alleged to have shot and killed Owen
Higgins, President of the Haines City Fiance Company, was
shot to death by police and citizens.

In the three counties of Florida with more than
62,5 per cent Negro population there have been only three
lynchings since 1900, Gadsen County has had one, in 1918,
for "throv/ing white man under train"; and Leon, tv/o, -
one in 1909 for Murder and one in 1920, According to a
dispatch from Tallahassee it was believed that this Negro
"was the victim of an attack in Gadsen County, election
day - that his body drifted over in the Leon County line,"

In 1927 there were two lynchJ.ngs in Florida,
According to the Florence, South Carolina, Review on
March 20, "Berry Allen (white) is reported to have been
seized by a mob and throvm into the Suv/anee River while
being taken to a hospital suffering from wounds sustained
when his barricaded home was dynamited by a sheriff's
posse after he had shot and killed 7i/ill Brock, a range
rider, and seriously wounded a deputy sheriff", at Mayo
Florida', - The last lynching in the state occurred on July
21, 1927, at Chiefland, in Levy County which has had
three lynchings during the 28 years, "Albert Williams,
charged v/ith assault on a turpentine operator, was shot
to death by a mob. The trouble is said to have arisen
over a debt which 'Williams ov/ed the v/hite man,"^

5. Bronson, Florida, Nev/s, July 22, 1927,

236

Florida: "a paradise for invalids, sportsmen
and natnirallsts", but for the Negroes, "the best of the
bad states"; where about every other month one of their
re^ce must pay the death penalty without a trial to
establish his guilt or innocence; where since 1900, 35
have been lynched for either an "unknov/n cause", or else
some such minor offense as "popular prejudice", "refusal
to give up a farm", or "bringing his mother home after
she had been flogged",

Louisiana

Table XXIX shows that in Louisiana since 1900
there has been a more even distribution of lynchings over
the various months than in any other state, August leads
with a total of 22, including nine for Rape, Next comes
September with 16, including four each for Mvirder, Rape,
and Theft, In may, June and July each there have been
15 persons lynched since 1900, and in February and October
14, The relatively high rank of February in the nxunber
lynched is unusual. Six of these were for Murder, two
for Rape, one for Assault, three for Theft, and the crime
of two - one Negro and one v/hite - is unknov/n. Of the
10 .vhites lynched in Louisiana during the period, three were
for IviXirder, one for Rape, one for Theft, one for "shelter-
ing a miirderer", and the crime of four is unlcnov/n.

Of the total 167 persons lynched dviring the
period 65, or 39 per cent met that fate for Murder, and
38, or 22 per cent for Rape, Tv/elve v/ere lynched for

237

TABLE :OCIX

LOUISIANA:

LYNCHINGS BY CRIME AM) BY MONTH, 'MEITE AND NEGRO
Prom 1900 to 1928

Month

M^^rder

Rape

Assault

Minor '

Theft .<lrson

Unknovm.

Total

January

February

2(lw)

March

April

3(lw)

May

6(lw)

June

7(lw)

5(lw)

July

August

September

4(lw)

October

2(lw)

November

December

Total

65(3w)

38 (Iw)

20 (Iw)

12 (Iw)

12 (4w)

167(10w)

* This Negro was said to be a "desperado".

I ; '

238

Theft, threo for Arson, and 20 for IJlnor Offenses, - 35,
or 21 per cent of the total. Minor Offenses for which
men have been lynched in Louisiana Include: "making
threats", "keeping a gambling house", "disorderly conduct",
"insulting lady", "bringing suit against white man",
"keeping disreputable house , "intimacy with white woman",
"vagrancy", and "living with a v/hite woman".

Map XIV shows the distribution of lynchlngs in
Louisiana over the various Parishes, While there is no
section of the state In which no lynchlngs have taken place
since 1900, the Map shows that the vast majority of the
lynchlngs have occ\irred In the upper half of the state.
It is in this part of the state that the majority of the
Negro population resides. Again, however, this does not
mean that it is in the Parishes with the highest Negro
population that the greatest number of lynchlngs occur.

Of the five Parishes with a Negro population
of more than 75 per cent, tv/o - East Carol and Tensas -
have had no lynchlngs; Madison has had one; Concordia,
three; and West Felincia, tv/o, Ouachita County, on the
other hand, with a Negro population of 54,8 per cent in
1910 and 45,8 per cent in 1920 has had 17 lynchlngs. On
the whole the Parishes having the greatest number of
lynchlngs are not those with the highest numerical or
proportional Negro population. These Parishes, on the other
hand, had from 30 to 75 per cent Negro population in 1910
and from 25 to 60 per cent Negro population in 1920,

240

Table XXX shows that Louisiana ranks second
only to I.iississippi in the percentage of Negro children
who were out of school in 1924. This state ranks fourth
from the bottom in the sunount invested per Negro school
child in public school property. While Louisiana ranks
fourth from the top of the southern states in the length
of school term for white children it ranks third from
the bottom in the average length of school term for the
Negro children. In 1924 almost one-half of the Negro
children of school age were not in school.

While the white illiteracy for the state was
10.5 per cent in 1920, the range in the percentage of
illiteracy for the leading lynching Parishes was from
0.8 per cent to 6.6 per cent. The percentage of illiteracy
among the Negroes of the state was 38.5 and for the Parishes
with more than six lynchings the range was from 21.0 per
cent to 42.8 per cent.

Table XXXI shows the lynchings in Louisiana by
year, and by crime for those parishes having more than 10
persons lynched since 1900, This table gives the specific
crimes as stated in the newspaper reports at the time the
lynchings occurred, rather than as classified in Table
XXIi, A clearer conception of the interracial history of
these four Louisiana Parishes so far as lynching is
concerned can be gained from this Table, In Bossier
Parish, for example, 12 persons have been lynched since
1900, over a period of 22 years. Three of the number
were charged with murder, three with "murderous assault".

••f^r,

241

TABLE XXX

PER CENT WHITE AND NEGRO CHILDREN IN SCHOOL AND OUT OP SCHOOL

IN THE SOUTH, 1924

STATE

YifHITE

NEGROES

Out of

School

In School

School

Texas

93.7

6.3

88.7

11.3

Oklahoma

87.3

12.7

88.0

12.0

North Carolina

85.1

14.9

83.8

16.2

Missouri

81.4

18.6

78.7

21.3

Georgia

89.5

10.5

74.2

25,8

Virginia

84.8

15.2

72,7

27.3

Tennessee

80.3

19.7

71,6

28.4

W. Virginia

80.6

19.4

70.8

29.2

Arkansas

73.4

26.6

69.6

30.4

Deleware

70.1

29.9

67.1

39.2

South Carolina

77.2

22.8

65.8

34.2

District of C,

65.5

34.5

61.9

38.1

Maryland

69.5

30.5

61.2

38.8

Florida

81.3

18.7

60.9

30.1

Kentucky

65.0

35.0

60.9

39.1

Alabama

84.9

15.1

58.8

41.2

Louisiana

70.3

29.7

57.9

42.1

Mississippi

68.9

31.1

53.0

47.0

(Negro Year Book,

Stati3ti

,cs, 1925-6

Voltune, p.

292).

242

TABLE XXXI

LOUISIANA: LYNCHINGS BY PiiRISH, BY CRIIffi, AND BY YEAR,

Prom 1900 to 1928

PARISH

Number

Date

Place Crime

Bossier

1 5/4/01 At Alden Bridge, "keeping gambl-

ing house,"

2 6/20/01 At Bossier, Mtirder.

1 10/16/03 At Taylor Town, "threats to kill,"
1 11/2/03 At Taylor Tovm, Murder,
1 5/3/07 At Bossier, Rape.

3 11/28/12 At Benton, "murderous assault."
1 1/26/18 At Benton, "living with whit©

woman,"
1 2/14/19 At Bossier, Murder.
1 8/30/22 Near Benton, "assault on white

woman."

Caddo

rap©,'

1 11/24/01 At Shreveport, Murder,
1 3/5/01 At Blanchard, Rape,
1 5/4/01 At Rodessa, Rape.
1 7/26/03 Near Shreveport, Miirder.
1 5/23/06 At Blanchard. Robbery.
1 8/3/O8 At Bethany, "attempted
1 11/27/09 Shreveport, Rape.

1 4/9/12 Shreveport, "insulting whit©

women, "

2 12/16/13 At Blanciiard, Murder,

1 3/12/14 At Shreveport, Rape,

2 12/2/14 At Sylvester Station, Murder,

1 12/3/14 At Sylvester Station, Murder,

2 12/11/14 At Mooringsport, Murder,
1 12/12/14 At Shreveport, Murder,

1 8/29/16 At Vivian, "attempted rape."
1 5/11/17 At Shreveport, "intimacy with

white woman,"
1 10/23/19 At Shreveport, unknown crime,
1 1/3/23 At Shreveport, "associating with

white women,"
1 4/15/21 At Rodessa; unknown,
1 8/4/26 At Lachute, "attack upon a 10

year old girl," "killed while

trying to escape,"

243

TABLE XXXI (Cont'd)

PARISH

Number

Date

Place

Crime

Ouachita 17

1 8/26/06 At Calhoun, "attempted rape."

2 3/15/07 At Monroe, for Murder,

1 8/24/09 At Monroe, "mvirderous assault,"
1 8/25/10 At Monroe, a Negro woman, "for
keeping disreputable house,"

1 10/22/13 At Monroe, "insulting white

woman, "
4 8/7/14 At Monroe, 3 for Murder, and one
for "suspected murder,"

2 3/I6/13 At Monroe, "attack on white woman,'
1 4/22/I8 At Monroe, "shooting white man,"

1 1/30/19 At Monroe, Murder.

1 4/29/19 Near Monroe, "accused of writing
insulting letters to white woman,

1 9/6/19 At Monroe, "charged with a crimi-
nal assault on farmer's wife,"

Iw 2/6/21 At Monroe, an unknovm white man
burned for crime unknown.

Richland 11

1 7/15/01 At Girard, Theft.

1 9/8/09 At Mangham, Rape,

1 11/20/09 At Delhi, Murder.

1 3/14/10 At Rayville, Murder.

Iw 7/10/10 At Rayville, "cause unknown."

1 11/8/11 At Delhi, Murder.

1 4/25/12 At Delhi, "unnamed offense."

3 2/26/18 At Rayville, "stealing hogs."

1 7/I8/I8 At Mangham, Murder.

244

one with "threats to kill"; one. Rape; one, "keeping a gambl-
ing house", and one v/ith "living v/lth a white woman". The
last lynching in the Parish was on August 30, 1922: "The
body of Thomas Rivers, said to have confessed to an assault
on a v/hite woman, was found hanging from the limb of a tree.
He was taken from officers by a mob as he was being trans-
ferred to Benton, Louisiana, for safekeeping,'

The 23 lynchings in Caddo Parish have been scatter-
ed over a period of 25 years. The longest time in v/hich there
has not been a lynching in the Parish was a little over three
years. In those years in which there were lynchings the
number ranged from one to nine. Seven of the victims were
charged with rape or attempted rape, and the same niunber
v/ith murder. Other crimes for which lynchings occurred were
Robbery, "insulting white women", "intimacy with white
woman", and "associating with white v/oman". The latter
case v/as that of Lester Leggett who "was lynched by a party
of men who kidnapped him. His body was foxind riddled v/ith
bullets. The police claimed that complaints had been
received that Leggett was associating with white v/oman,""''
The last lynching in Caddo Parish occurred on August 4,
1926 near Lachute, "John Norris, 24 years old, was sur-
rounded in a cotton field and shot to death by a posse
seeking him for an attack on a 12 year old girl. He was
reported killed v/hile trying to escape,"'''

6, Thirteenth Annual Report, NAACP, p. 37, 1922,

7, Supplement of ihirty Years Lynching, NAACP,

245

The 17 lynchings In Ouachita Parish occurred
between 1906 and 1922, In 1910 the Negro population of
the Parish was 54.8 per cent and in 1920, 45.8 per cent.
In 1920 there were 398 illiterate v/hites, or 3.3 per cent
of all whites above 10 years of age, while 32.7 per cent of
all Negroes of that age, or a total of 3,587 v/ere illiterate,
A study of Table XXXI indicates what seems even more evident
when one reads detailed accounts of the lynchings in
Ouachita Parish: That inter-racial friction is of such
a nature that some of the charges against Negroes are
"trumped up" and thereby false. Although not one person
lynched in Ouachita Parish has been diarged with rape,
more than one- third of the member have been lynched for a
"sexual crime". It is not usual, for example, to lynch
a Negro woman for "keeping a disreputable house", and
reports ciirrent in at least one of the adjoining states
indicate that white men in Monroe Louisiana do not lynch
all v/omen who "keep disreputable houses".

Another case suggesting the character of some
of the charges against those lynched in Ouachita Parish
is that of George Holden who was lynched near Monroe on
April 29, 1919, According to the "Memphis Commercial
Appeal" of April 30, Holden v/as taken from a stretcher on
a baggage train, and shot to death. He had been vraxinded
in two previous attempts to lynch him, He^ was accused of
writing an insulting note to a v/hite woman. The Coroner* s
jTiry reported that the Negro "came to his death at the

rrT4'

246

hands of parties unknown," On May 12, 1919 a reputable
citizen of Shreveport wrote that the accusation against
Holden was a "frame-up" because he had contracted to paint
and paper a number of houses. Certain white men had
wanted the job, Holden, he said, was not guilty of the
charge of Virrlting an insulting note, for one good reason:
He could not v.Tite, The last lynching in the Parish v/as
that of a white man, 7«'e have been unable to learn the
crime against him, - and his name was not known by those
who lynched him.

During the past decade there have been 33 persons
lynched in Louisiana, and in the past five years, six. The
last lynching occurred in the South-western part of the
state, in Beaugard Parish, which had never before had a
lynching in so far as the records extend. In 1927 a Negro,
whose name was not given - presiimably a stranger at
Dequincy - was taken by a mob from the jail v/here he had
been placed for a crime that is not known. The Negro v/as
beaten, then shot in the back. He died in a Lake Charles
sanitarium,

Texas

It has been said, "Of course Texas would rank
high in lynchlngs, it is such a big state." Texas is a
great state - especially in size: It is larger than
Germany, or Prancec It is as large as Pennsylvania,
Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and New York combined. A Dallas

247

attorney has also claimed for Texas, "more brass-bound
Democrats and Democratic officeholders; more Ku Klux
Klansmen, killings and lynchlngs" than any other state.

While it is true that Texas has been the leading
state in the number of persons lynched during some of the
28 years under consideration, it is not the leading state
in this respect over the whole period. This the attorney
later admits v/ith what is possibly the true explanation.
He says: "Texas lynches, mutilates, and burns Negroes;
but ••• other southern states rank ahead of us in this
pastime - they have more Negroes to lynch," Some of the
most notorious lynching episodes of recent years have
occurred in Texas,°

Table XXXII shows the lynchlngs in Texas by

crime and by month from 1900 to 1928, During the period
213 persons have thus met death - 171 Negroes, 35
Mexicans, and seven whites. Three of the v/hites were
lynched for !.!urder, tv/o for Rape, and the crime of tv/o
is unknov/n, Tv/enty-fotir of the Mexicans were charged
with Miirder, v/hile two were lynched for Minor Offenses,
two for an unknown cause, and six for Banditry'-, Sixty-
six o about 39 per cent of the 171 Negroes were lynched
for Murder; 58, or 34 per cent were charged v/ith Rape,
and 26 v/ere lynched for lylinor Offenses - "race prejudice",
"marrying a white woman", "race trouble , "disagreement

8. See Chapter IX, Cases 7, 15,

248

TABLE XXXII

TEXAS: LYNCHINGS BY CRIJIE AND BY S¥A¥e FROM 1900 to 1928'

Bandl-
Murder Rape Assault Minor Theft try Unknown Total

Month

January 5 1
P ehrxiar y 4 ( l"'*'" ) 5 ( Im )

March

April

May

Jtme

July

Aiigust

9(1*)
19 (3m)

6
6
8
4

5(lm) 10 (r^-)
11 (6m) 6(1'"')
Septem.ber 10 (3m) 4
October 14(10m) 4
November 8(lin) 2
December 2(1^^) 2

2
0

0
0

4(1^)
(1'"")
0

14
10

3(lm)

5(lm)

4(1*)

Totals

93 58

213

•JHJ-

•M-* Note: Negroes, 171; Mexicans, 35; 'ATiites, 7,
•» Those marked with "m" are Mexicans, and those marked
(-"-) are whites.

U 1..

249

with white man", etc. The crime for v/hich 14 Negroes
have paid the death penalty is unlcnovm. More lynchings
have occurred in June than in any other month, September
and October also rank high as lynching months in Texas.

Map XV indicates that the size of the state has
little to do with Texas lynching statistics. More than
200 of the lynchings in the state since 1900 have occurred
east of the ninety-eighth meridian v/hich is less than one-
third of the way across the state from east to west. More-
over, 88 of the lynchings occurred in eight counties. Two
of these have had seven lynchings each; one has had eight;
and two others have had nine each. The other three,
Brazoria, Harrison, and Cameron, h-ave had 11, 12, and 25
respectively,

Cameron County leads in the number of lynchings
with 25, not one of v/hich was a Negro, All were Mexicans
except one. In 1920 there v/ere 10,670 foreign-born,
practically all Mexicans, in the county, or 29.1 per cent
of the total population. There were 3,459 native white
illiterates and 4,766 foreign-born illiterates. Practical-
ly one-half of the small number of 771 Negroes are ignorant
laborers, unable to read and v/rite their names, but not
one has been lynched. Eight of the Mexicans v/ere charged
with Miirder, and the remaining 17 were lynched for "train-
wrecking and murder", and "banditry". The v/hite man -
the last person lynched in the county - was foreman of a
ranch. He v/as shot to death on February 2, 1922 after his

-o

friiJ/X Oal

251

refusal to heed a warning to leave the covuatry. "A'hy, and
by whom he was v/arned and shot is not knovm.

In Brazoria Cotmty 11 persons have been lynched.
These lynchings were scattered over a period of 17 years,
beginning in 1903 when two Negroes v;ere hanged for Miirder,
Every person lynched in this county - all Negroes - has
been accused of murder except two and they were lynched
for "aidj.ng inurderer in escape". This is the only county
in the South v/ith as many as ten lynchings since 1900 in
which not one of the victims was accused of any crime in
connection with a woman, Fovoc of the 11 persons in
Brazoria County met that fate for murdering the Sheriff
of the adjoining county of Vi/harton, Two Negroes were charg-
ed with the murder, and two v/ith aiding them to escape.
All were lynched just across the Brazoria line.

In 1920 there v/ere 6,574 Negroes in this county -
a decrease since 1910 from 46.9 per cent to 31.9 per cent
of the total population. There has been a gradual in-
crease in farm tenancy in the county since 1900, Three
per cent of the whites and 21.8 per cent of the Negroes
are illiterate. The last lynching in the county occurred
more than seven years ago. On September 16, 1920 Oscar
Beasley was taken from the jail at Angle ton and lynched
by a mob of 300 m.en. He had been indicted by the grand
jury for murdering sheriff Joe Snow of Brazoria County,

In Harrison County 12 Negroes have been lynched
since 1900, I/Iore than 60 per cent of the population of

252

the coxinty during this period has been black. In 1903
Walker Davis was lynched for Murder, On April 27, 1909
a Negro v/as lynched for Rape, and three days later
three were lynched for Mvirder, On February 25, 1923 a
Negro was lynched near Marshall for Murder and another
at Karnach a fev/ miles away for "horse stealing". On
Avigust 22, 1917 Charles Jones was lynched for "attempted
rape". The last lynching in the county occurred on
June 17, 1919 when Lemuel liValters v/as shot to death by a
mob at Longview. He was taken from the jail, dragged
through the streets to the suburbs, and tied to a tree.
His body was riddled with bullets, after which it was
left naked by the roadside. The cause of the lynching
is indicated in a newspaper report dated from Longview:
"a prominent v/hite woman is reported to have said to
friends that she loved Walters and would marry him if she
were in another state. This was repeated to the authori-
ties who arrested him without charge. Sheriff opened jail
to the mob,"

The nine persons lynched in Sabine County, Texas,
all met that fate on Jiine 22, 1908, at Hemphill for
Murder,

In Walker County a Negro was lynched in 1905
for Rape, The other six persons lynched in the county
since 1900 met that fate in 1918, at Huntsville, when a
woman and her five children were lynched for alleged threats
to avenge the killing of her husband, who had been shot
"while resisting arrest".

253

Of the seven persons lynched In Jefferson
County, two were charged v/ith murder, one with "murder-
ous assault", one with rape, and one was lynched by
"mistaken identity". Since 1913 there have been only two
lynchings in the county, one in 1917 for an vmknown cause,
and one in 1918 for "attacking a white girl".

The eight Negro victims of mob violence in
Montgomery County since 1900 v/ere lynched in three of the
28 years. On February 28, 1908 occurred the first lynching
on record for that county. Clem Scott was lynched for
"attempted rape". Less than a month later, on March 24,
three Negroes were lynched, one at Conroe and two at
Magnolia, for the same alleged offense. Fourteen years
passed and on May 17, 1922 the body of a Negro named
Earle "was found swinging to a tree" at Conroe, He had
been arrested following screains of a young white girl,
placed in jail, but later escaped. He v/as lynched "by
unknov/n men". Three days later "Joe Winters, said to
have been identified as the assailant of a white girl,
was burned to death in the courthouse square". On June
23, 1922, at New Dacus, '.Varren Lewis was hanged by a
mob of 300, It was said the 18 year old Negro confessed
that he attacked a white woman.

The last lynching in Montgomery was that of a
Negro in 1927 who was charged with "assault to murder" a
white man. This was the only case in which a lynching
had ever occurred in the county without some charge in
connection with a white woman. Possibly this means that

254

they only lynch for this offense; possibly it means that
this is the best charge to bring against a Negro v/hom
it is desired for any reason to lynch. That no actual
case of rape has ever been alleged may indicate the latter,

McLennan County has had eight lynching s and one
biirning after murder since 1900, scattered over a period
of 22 years. Five of the eight Negroes were lynched at
Harrison in 1901 "as a result of a quarrel over profit-
sharing". In 1905, August 5, a Negro was lynched at Y/aco
for Rape, Eleven years later the next lynching in the
cotmty occurred when Jessie Washington was burned in
front of the Mayor's office for rape and murder,^ In
1921 a white man. Curly Hackney, was hanged near Waco,
crime unknovm. The last "lynching" in McLennan was a
postmortem act of mob violence at Vt'aco, On May 26, 1922,
Jess Thomas was charged with attacking a white girl after
having shot her escort. The girl's father shot Thomas
down, fatally. His body v/as removed to an Undertaking
establishment from which it was taken by a mob and burned
on the public square.

During the past ten years Texas mobs have taken
the life of 55 men and women, Vdiile a high proportion of
these have been charged with Murder and Rape, some were
lynched for such offenses as "\inknoTm cause , "alleged
threats", "refusing to leave the country", and "dis-
agreement v/ith white man". During the past five years

9, See Chapter IX, Case No. 77

« •

255

nine persons have been lynched in Texas, One was lynched
for "reckless driving" in which he injiired a Mexican
woman. His hands and feet were cut off, after which he
was bxirned to death. One v/as charged with "attacking a
white girl" and another with rape. One was shot and
two - a man and his wife - were burned to death for re-
fusing to leave the house in which they lived, "It is
believed that the killings were meant as revenge for the
slaying of Wallace Growder, a white man, near Houston,
The slain Negroes, however, were not directly connected
with the white man's death," One of the nine met
death for an unknovm cause, and another for Mvirder*

The last lynching in Texas occurred near Willis,
in Montgomery County, on February 1, 1927, Tom Payne
had been arrested, charged with "assault to murder" in
connection vdth an "attack" on a white sav/mill worker.
Fearing mob violence, two officers started to Huntsville
with the Negro "for safekeeping". They were surrounded
and "disarmed" by an unmasked mob of white men near V/illis,
Payne was suspended by the neck from the limb of a tree,-^

Mississippi

It has been said that "Mississippi is a state
that appears at the bottom of the list in most tables
of statistics," Not so with regard to the ntiraber of men
and v;omen victims of mob action. In this respect Mississippi

10, Gathered from press reports,

11. Dispatch, New York Times, February 3, 1927.

ij ul.

256

stands second only to Georgia, Mississippi has held this
rank, since 1882, and possibly since the early "fifties"
when the "Avigustan Age of Murder" belonged to California
and the West, and when white men were hanged for as
trifling offenses as Negroes have been lynched in
Mississippi since 1900. Since 1882 a total of 437 per-
sons have been lynched, 25 of whom were v/hite men and
women and 412, or 94.3 per cent of whom were Negro men
and women. Since 1900 Mississippi ranks next to Georgia
in the total number of persons lynched and first among
all the states in the nvunber of women lynched.

The numerical Negro population is 935,184.
Mississippi is second to Georgia in this respect, but
first in the proportion of Negro population, with 52,2
per cent, which, although distributed throughout the
state is concentrated in the cotinties along the River.
In 13 of these counties the Negro population ranges
above 75 per cent; in seven more, above 62, per cent;
and in five others, above 50 per cent. Three counties
on the eastern border of the state have a Negro popu-
lation of above 62,5 per cent.

Mississippi ranks second to the lowest among
all states in the Nation in the percentage of total tax
levy devoted to education, in the value of school pro-
perty per school child enrolled, in the annual salary
paid to school teachers, and third in both v/hite and
Negro illiteracy. She ranks first in the percentage of

257

children of school age, vifhite and black, not in school,
and first in the number of counties in which six or

more persons have been lynched since 1900« Some
counties with a Negro population of 75 per cent have
had no lynchings. Others with as low as 16 per cent
Negro population have had from six to 10 lynchings. In
the state as a whole 29»3 per cent of the Negroes and
3,3 per cent of the whites are illiterate. Apparently,
hov/ever, there is no relationship between the number or
proportion of illiterates and the niimber of lynchings
in particular counties. This is indicated by Table
XX in Chapter VII, The range in white illiteracy in the
counties listed in this Table is from 1,1 per cent to
6 per cent; and the range for the Negro population is
from 16,2 per cent to 50.0 per cent. In the same counties
the percentage of Negro population in 1910 ranged from
17,5 to 90,7 and in 1920, from 16,0 to 89,3, In Smith
County which has had six lynchings since 1900 the
numerical Negro population v/as 2,594, v/hile Bolivar
Co\mty with a Negro population of 47,533 has had seven
lynchings during the period.

Table XXXV shows the lynchings in Mississippi
by crime, by month and race since 1900, During this
period 14 white men, 11 Negro -,vomen, and 241 Negro men -

12. Cf. Table XXII, Chapter VII; Negro Year Book, 1925-5, up,
292-293; Table XX , Chapter VII (infra); Biireau of
Education, Bulletin No. 90; Vol. Ill, Biennial Survey of
Education, pp. 145, 154, 198, quoted in "These United
States, E, Gruening, "First Series", p. ZW,

•£; :

r^j :ffj

258

TABLE XXXV

MISSISSIPPI: LYNCHIKGS BY CRBffi, BY MONTH, AND BY RACE,

Prom 1900 to 1928

Month Murder Rape Asaault %nor Theft Arson Unknown Total

January

February-

14(lw)

March

April

8(lw)

May-

4(lw)

June

4(1-"-)

July

8(lw)

4(3w)

August

September

October

16(2w)

November

7(lw)

December

Totals 124(5w) 58(lw) loCr-") 25 9(4w) 11 23(3w) 266(14w)

^' This victim was listed as "a desperado", at Chunky, Nev/ton
County, Mississippi, June 16, 1911; name, William Bradford,
Negro,

259

a total of 266 persons - have been lynched in the state.
Of this niimber 124 were charged with Murder, One wlxLte
man and 47 Negroes were lynched for rape, attempted rape,
or "attack upon a white woman". The cause of the lynch-
ing of 20 Negroes and three whites is not knovm. Twenty-
five Negroes were lynched for Minor Offenses, and tv/enty
others for Arson and Theft combined.

iJVhlle more lynchings have occurred in June than
in any other month of the year, the total number is more
evenly distributed throughout all months of the year than
in any other state except Louisiana,, This is shown
graphically by Chart VII, The highest number were lynched
in June v/ith 36, The lynchings for imarder are highest
in June and October, which possibly indicates a relation-
ship betv/een lynchings and "crop settlements". It is
notable that in this state the charge of rape against mob
victims is more evenly distributed over all months than
in any other state.

Map XVI shov/s the dispersion of lynchings over
the different counties of Mississippi. The majority of
these have occurred along the Mississippi River and along
the eastern border of the state, from North to South,
The least number of lynchings have occtirred in the North-
central part of the state. There are only 18 counties,
of the total 82, in Mississippi, in which there has not
been one or more lynchings since 1900, In 19 counties
with six or more lynchings diiring the period, a total
of 135 persons have thus met death. The coiinties in which

rtj:

C^.<Liy2.-iLyL^l.^ty<^ '.

nT>PJyLlU|IUl[lllUII!l|l|lll|.'ll|l/TXl ,.ll! nil ■

260

tl*At:0f^

ccwvi-ti-/^--

■|-::_:-rn-Ttn--f

Trtl"rH^ir?t:t-ni'^t+H..iM,H-iH+t--^-HH----tt'-H).).-hH44-H^it-M~HmW-mtt--t^i-H^11^^-;HtiH-----tH

The I B« ProhfbttH CopyInK or Rciirn:Iut lion It? Anj I'rocciiti lor Pfmonnl I «c or Rmnlr.

Miitistippi

The l.n« Prohibits Copylnp or Bcitrotlucilon I>j Any ProccsM (or PrrwonnI I'nv or V.eMnXe,

262

there have been no lynchings are scattered from one end
of the state to the other and apparently have no rela-
tionship to the proportion of Negro population,

Jackson County in the South-east corner of the
state has had six persons lynched since 1900 but only
three mob episodes. Two of the number were lynched in
February, 1901, one for Murder and one for Rape, The
next and last lynching in the coTonty was that of four
Negroes in 1908 for "incendiarism".

The North-west county of Mssissippl is De
Soto in which there have been eight persons lynched over

a period of 27 years beginning in 1900, Of this nvunber

one
five were charged with murder, two with rape, ancywith

theft. The last lynching in the cotinty occvirred on
March 22, 1926, "An \inidentified Negro v/as lynched by an
unmasked band of white men for an alleged attack on a
young white woman," Sheriff Thompson reported that he was
unable to establish the identity of the members of the
mob. The lynching occurred on the farm of William Lauder-
dale, a white man. He reported that the Negro was lynched
while he had gone to telephone the sheriff, ^"^

Kemper County, with a Negro population of 56,5
per cent and a Negro illiteracy of 30 per cent, is one of
eastern border coxxnties about midway of the state north
and south. In this county eight persons have been lynched

13, Supplement to the "Thirty ^ears Lynching", NA^CP,

263

over a period of 19 years beginning in 1906. Five of
the number were lynched for Murder, one for Theft, one
for "alleged rape", and one for "attempted rape". The
last lynching in the county was that of Harry Shelton
at Scoba, on July 20, 1924, He was charged with attempt-
ed rape, and placed in jail. Later a mob took him from
the jail and hanged him outside of town.

In Noxubee Covinty, the next north of Kemper,
seven Negroes met death betv/een 1901 and 1927 at the
hands of mobs. In 1901 tv/o Negroes were lynched for
Arson, after which there was no lynching in the county
for 12 years when C. W, Edd was hanged for Murder, In
1915 another Negro was lynched for Murder, Again there
were no lynchings for 12 years, when in 1927 three Negroes
thus met death. On April 2, two unknown Negroes accused
of murder were burned to death at Macon, The last lynch-
ing in the cotmty was on May 20, 1927 when Dan Anderson,
"alleged to have confessed that he killed a young v/hite
farmer was lynched by a mob which took him from officers.
More than 200 shots were fired into his body, "•'■'*

Of the eight persons lynched in Sunflov/er County
seven were charged with murder and one v/ith "attempted
assault". There has not been a lynching in the county for
the past 15 years.

In Q:uitman County, on the other hand, four of the
seven persons lynched since 1900 have been charged with

14, Nev/spaper clipping. See Chapter IX for Case (No. 12) in
Clarke County, on the eastern border of the state, which
has had six lynchings since 1900,

264

Rape, the last of whom was burned at the stake on Axigust
23, 1922. Two were charged v/lth murder, one in 1902 and
the other in 1913, On November 8, 1919, according to
the "Memphis Commercial Appeal", Robert Motley was lynched
as a result of a dispute over a crop settlement between
himself and P. P. Cassidy. "A llr, Slvely went to Cassidy»3
aid on the dispute and was shot by Will Motley, brother
of Robert, who escaped, Sively died as a result of his
wound. Robert Motley was taken to jail on November 7
where he remained until the night of the 8th, when an
armed mob forced its way in and hanged him,-'-^

Washington Coiinty has a Negro population of
41,640 or 81,5 per cent of the total. Since 1900 there
have been six lynching episodes and 10 persons lynched in
this coTinty. In 1901, on July 11, three "suspected cattle
thieves" were lynched at Erwin, and two other white men
were lynched for an unknown cause, probably also cattle
stealing. In 1903 a Negro was lynched for alleged rape,
and another in 1905 for Murder, ^n August 17, 1909
William Robertson was lynched for an "unnamed cause"
Three yee^rs later a Negro was lynched for "attempted
rape", and in 1914 the last lynching in the county occurred
at Leland when Sam Petty was shot on February 24, for
Murder,

Of the persons lynched in Tunica Govmty, seven
met that fate for Murder, three for burglary and one for

15, See Commercial Appeal, Movember 11, 15, 19,

265

"attempted rape". There has not been a ^-jnching in this
county for 20 years,

Harrison County has a high percentage of v/hite
illiteracy and a relatively low percentage of both Negro
population and illiteracy. In this coxinty six persons
have been put to death by mobs over a period of 23 years
beginning in 1900, On June 10, 1900 a Negro was lynched
for "suspected murder", and in December another for
Murder, In 1903 Samuel Adams was lynched for Rape and
in 1904 an unlcnown Negro v/as lynched for Murder, In 1908
Henry Leidy v/as lynched, on November 10, for Rape, There
was not another lynching in the county for 14 years. On
March 22, 1922, Alexander Smith, "said to have been the
operator of a house of ill-fame from which two white
girls had been removed, was hanged from a bridge" near
Gulf Port,

Chart VIII shows graphically the proportion
lynched in Mississippi for the 28 year period for various
offenses. Of the 266 persons lynched in 64 co\inties in
of the state since 1900, 124 or 46,6 per cent were charged
with Murder, This number includes six of the 14 whites
lynched. The crime for which three of the whites were
lynched is not known; four were lynched for theft, one
for Rape and another for being "a desperado". Forty- seven
Negroes and the one white man make a proportion of 21,7
per cent lynched for Rape - including "attempted rape"
and "attacks upon white v/omen". It is notable that about

267

10 per cent of the total number in Mississippi have been
charged with I.Ilnor Offenses, and that about 7,5 per cent
were charged with Theft and Arson combined. Among the
Minor Offenses, which have precipitated mob action in
Mississippi are the following: "race prejudice", "race
rioter", "striking a six-year-old white girl", "threats",
and "lawlessness".

Since 1917 there have been 71 lynchings in
Mississippi, an average of 10 per year. During the past
five years 22 Negro men, one Negro v/oman, and on© white
man have met death at the hands of Mississippi mobs.
The white man, "Doc" Jackson, was lynched for Murder,
The Negro girl was lynched by a mob in search of her
brother. There were no charges reported against her
personally. Of the total number lynched during the past
five years, 11 v/ere charged with murder, two with rape,
five v.'ith "attacks" or "attempted attacks" upon women;
another v/as lynched "for entering the room of a v/hite
woman", one for fighting an officer, one for stabbing
a Y/hite man, one for striking a v/hite child, and another
for "beating a board bill". The latter case was that of
iernice Rasberry v/ho v/as taken from the jail at Leakesville
on May 25, 1927 "by a masked band of about 100 men and
strung up to a tree. His body was then riddled with
bullets. He had been arrested on a charge of beating a
board bill after which the sheriff v/as informed that he
was Y/anted at Bothv/ell, Mississippi, for alleged improper

exio

268

conduct with a white woman."

In 1927 Mississippi had the highest number of
lynchings that had occurred in that state since 1922,
There was a total of seven, five charged with Murder, one
with beating a board bill (Rasberry case), and one v/ith
"attack upon a white woman". In April tv/o Negroes accused
of murder were burned to death in Macon, Mississippi, On
June 13, at Louisville, Mississippi, "Jim and Marx Pox,
brothers, accused of having slain Clarence Nichols, a
sawmill superintendent, were seized by a mob, paraded
through the streets and then taken a short distance from
town, where they were tied to a telephone post, . saturated
with gasoline, and burned to death. The men were taken

from officers who were taking them to Jackson, for

safekeeping,"

The last lynching in Mississippi occurred near
Yazoo City, Joe Smith is alleged to have "attempted to
attack a young white girl". On July 7 his body, "full of
hot lead", v/as found hanging to the limb of a tree,

Georgia

Georgia has more Negro population than any state
in the Union, but this population is decreasing. From
45,1 per cent in 1910 there v/as a decrease to 41,7 per cent.
Table XXXIV shows the lynchings in Georgia since 1900 by

16, See Mobile, Alabma, Register, May 26, 1927,

17, New York Times, June l2, and July 8, 1927.

269

TABLE XXXIV

GEORGIA: LYNCHINGS BY GRIME AND BY MONTH, WHITE AND NEGRO

From 1900 to 1928

Month

Murder Raroe Assault Minor Theft Arson Unknown Total

January

February

8(3w)

March

April

May

26(lw)

June

July

6(2w)

9(lw)

August

15(lw)

7(lw)

September

■ ll(lw)

October

November

December

6(lw)

Unknown

Total

130 (6w)

74 (5w)

293(12w)

270

race, by month and by crime. Twelve wlalte men, 273 Negro
men and eight Negro women have been lynched during the
period. Of the total 293, 130 have been lynched for
Murder, 69 Negroes and five v/hites for Rape, 21 Negroes
for Assault, ten for Theft, two for /irson, while the
crime of 21 Negroes and one white man is not known.
Thirty-four Negroes have been lynched for Minor Offenses,
The highest number lynched per month v/as in May, with 38,
Next comes August with 32 and June with 31, Chart IX
shows that the greatest proportion of all persons lynched
in Georgia since 1900 have met that fate in the spring
and summer. Twenty-five lynching s have occurred in
September and 27 in October,

Map XVIII shows the distribution of lynchings
in Georgia over the various counties, VVhlle no section
of the state has been free from this type of mob action,
the fewest lynchings have occurred in the South-east and
North-v/est portions. In the latter section Negro popu-
lation is very low. The Georgia "Black Belt" reaches
across the South-eastern part of the state at a point '
below the line of the worst lynchings counties. The
counties in which most of the lynchings have occurred
have on the average about 50 per cent Negro population,
although again there is no apparent correlation betv/een
the ntimerical or proportional Negro population and the
number of lynchings.

This is shovm by Table XX, Chapter VII, This
Table indicates that the percentage of Negro illiteracy

• cfn-

^i^jfyi/^-ii^^-i^^^^f^-- 'Su-^ , /T| (5-aA>-^X_'

273

Is higher, on the average, in the lynchings counties, but
that this is not true of the v/hites. The percentage of
Negro population in those counties having six or more
lynchings since 1900 ranges from 35.2 to 74.2, and the
Negro illiteracy in these counties ranges from 19.7 per
cent to 43.2 per cent as compared to 29.1 per cent for the
state as a whole, Vrtilte illiteracy in these coujities ranges
from 2.3 per cent to 8.0 per cent as compared to 5,4 per
cent for the state.

The two eastern coTAnties with six or more mob
victims since 1900 are Bulloch and Columbia. The six in
Bulloch County v/ere lynched over a period of eight years,
beginning in 1901 when Kennedy Gordon v/as shot at Portal
for attempted rape. Three years later two Negroes were
lynched at Statesboro on April 16, for Murder, and on the
following day two more, a man and his son, for "race
prejudice". On A\:igust 50 of the same year, 1904,
Sebastian McBride v/as hanged at Portal en account of
"race prejudice". The last lynchings in the county
occurred 20 years ago. On February 17, 1908 a Negro
was lynched at Statesboro for Rape, and on February 24
another for the same offense. He was proved innocent of
the charge - but too late.

The six lynchings in Columbia County, on the
other hand, were scattered over a period of 23 years.
On May 13, 1900 Alex v;hitney was shot at Harlem for
Murder, and on the following day a Negro was lynched at

274

Grovetown, for the same offense. In 1904, on May 15,
a Negro was lynched at Appling for Rape, The next lynch-
ing in the county occurred on February 20, 1910 when Dan
Lumpkin met that awful fate for 'alleged complicity in
murder". Five years passed, and on February 4, a Negro
was lynched at Evans for Rape, The last lynching in
Columbia County v/as on March 12, 1922 near Harlem,
Alfred Williams, charged with having shot a v/hite farmer
with whom he had engaged in a dispute, v/as being taken
to jail by officers and citizens. A mob "took" Williams
from them and lynched him.

In South Georgia five counties have had six or
more persons lynched since 1900,"^° Coffee County, with
a Negro population of 35,2 per cent in 1910 and 31.6 per
cent in 1920, has had seven over a period of 27 years.
On May 4, 1900 Marshall Jones was shot at Douglas for
Murder, after which there was not a lynching in the
county for 18 years. In February, 1918, Ed Dansy killed
tv/o officers and v/ounded two others at vYillacoochee,
for which a mob promptly lynched him. On August 28, 1919
Eli Cooper v/as shot in a church house by members of a mob
who had brought him from Laxorens County, The church in
which the body was left v;as biirned, along with other
churches and a lodge building. Cooper was alleged to
have been a "leader among the Negroes" who were said to

18, For an analysis of the 18 lynchings in Brooks and Lov/ndes
counties, see Chapter IX, Case No, 3,

275

bo "planning to rise up and wipe out the white people".
In 1920, on November 18, two Negro men and a Negro woman
were lynched by a mob of 150. The Negroes had been
arrested for killing a white man, and v/ere being taken to
jail by the Sheriff and two Deputies, The mob "demanded"
them of the officers, and shot them. The last lynching
in Coffee County was that of Dave Yv'right, a white man,
on August 30, 1928, at 7/aycross', He was in jail, charged
with the murder of a Mrs, Sophie Rollins on August 28,
Tv/enty-five men "overpowered" Sheriff Tanner, took his
keys, removed IVright from the jail and lynched him.

Of the 12 persons lynched in Decatur and Mitchell
cotmties since 1900 two were charged with murder, four with
Rape, two "crime unknown"; one v/as lynched for Arson, and
two for "disputing white man*s word". The latter case was
that of Collins and D. C. Johnson, brothers, at Sale City,
Mitchell County, on November 17, 1917, One of the twelve
was lynched presumably to cover up a "mistake". On
November 23, 1920 a Negro shot and killed James E, Adams
of Worth County in a quarrel about a road across the
Adams plantation. On November 24 the body of Curly
McKelvey, brother to the Negro who killed Adama, was
"hanged to a tree and riddled v/lth bullets". The reports
of the affair indicate that a member of the posse in search
of the murderer shot his brother, after which he was hanged
to the tree and his dead body riddled with bullets.

In Bleckley, and Dodge counties in the center of

276

the state 15 persons have been lynched over a period of
20 years since 1900. Of this number two v;ere lynched
for Murder, three for Assault, two for Rape, three for
an "unknown" crime, one by "mistaken identity", and one
for "having a message for the Negroes". This v/as the cas«
of an \inldentified Negro v/ho was taken from a passenger
train at Cochran on August 4, 1919, and placed in the
"City Barracks", The next day his body was "Found sv/ing-
ing to a tree 50 yards from Cochran and Eastman line".
According to Associated Press reports the Negro v/as taken
from the train when word vms received that he had come
from Chicago with a "message" for the Negroes of Geoi'gia.
Members of his own race are reported to have said that
the victim boasted the Negroes of Georgia were going to do
what they had done in Chicago. He was lynched "by uji-
knovm parties".

The eight Negroes lynched in Oconee County all
met that fate at Watkinsville on June 29, 1905. Seven
v/ere charged with Murder and one with Rape.

The seven lynchirjgs in Bibb County occurred over
a period of eleven years. The first was that of Charles
Pov/ell, on February 4, 1912, for "assault and robbery".
In 1915 two v/hites, Valliam Green and son, v/ere lynched
at Macon for "alleged murder". A Negro was lynched near
Macon for Mxirder on February 12, 1916 and on Septem.ber 3,
1918 John Gilham v/as lynched for "attacking a white
woman". On November 3, 1919 Paul Jones was taken from

277

two officers at Macon and burned to death for "attacking
a white woman". The last lynching in the county was that
of a Negro v/ho was accused of murdering a Deputy Sheriff
at Holton, on August 1, 1S22.

Chart X shows graphically the proportion of all
persons lynched in Georgia since 1900 for various crimes.
Of the total 293, the highest number were lynched for
Hiurder* Six, or 50 per cent of the whites, and 124
Negroes, or 44 per cent of the total were lynched for
this crinif. It is notable that five of the 12 whites were
accused of Rape, Of the total 281 Negroes, 69 or 23 per
cent were charged with Rape. Twenty-one of the Negroes
or 7 per cent were charged v/ith Assault - v/hich usually
means fighting with a white man. Especially since 1910 one
rarely finds in the pages of any southern newspaper a re-
port of a v/hite man and a Negro engaging in a "fight". It
is the general rule to state that the Negro "assaulted the
white man", or that he attempted "murderous assault" upon
the white man. Ten Negroes have been lynched in Georgia
for Theft and 21 others for an "unknown cause", since 1900,
A total of 34, or 11,5 per cent of all persons lynched
during the period met that fate for Mnor Offenses, In
Georgia Minor Offenses mean: "race prejudice", "labor
troubles", "conspiracy to do violence", "window peeping",
"disputing v/hite man's word" and "jtunping labor contract".

During the past decade 82 Negroes and two whites
have been lynched in Georgia, while diiring the last five

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279

years nine Negroes and two whites have "been lynched. In
contrast to some of the other states there is very little
if any increase in the proportion of those lynched for
such major crimes as murder and rape. During the decade
while still the majority of lynchings have been caused hy
Murder and Rape, others have resulted from such minor of-
fenses as "boasting he had a message for the Negroes",
"leader of Negroes", "circulating incendiary literature",
"jumping labor contract", and intimacy with white woman.
In 1922 on July 14, "Shake" Davis, accused of "long-
standing intimacy with white woman who gave birth to a
child and named him as the father", v;as hanged by a mob
of white men.

In 1927 Georgia had her first lynchless year
since before 1882, During the previous year two white
men and one Negro were lynched. The crime of one of the
whites is not known; the other, Dave Wright, had killed
a white woman, -^^ The last lynching in the state occiirred
in December, 1926, at 7/est Point, Troup County, in which
there had been only one lynching since 1900 - in 1913,
A Negro boy was killed by members of a mob while in
search of another Negro who was charged vilth having shot
and killed a white man in an adjoining county.

Chart XI shows the proportion of all persons
lunched in the Major Lynching States since 1900, Of the

19, The leader of the mob that lynched Wright was given a
life sentence in the penitentiary, and others of the 17
indicted v/ere given sentences of from four to 20 years.

280

281

total 1,348, 60 white men and 517 Negroes, or 43 per cent were
lynched for Murder, Eleven whites and 320 Negroes, making
a total of 331, or 24,5 per cent were accused of Rape,
One white man and 89 Negroes or 6,6 per cent were lynched
for Assault, and 103, or 7,6 per cent of the total were
lynched for an "uhknovm" cause. Nineteen Negroes were
lynched for Arson, while five v;hites and 33 Negroes v/ere
lynched for Theft, Seven white men and 176 Negroes, or
13,5 per cent of the total number lynched in the seven
worst lynching states met that fate for Minor Offenses,
Let us turn attention to certain southern mob
episodes, A consideration of these cases may add to the
picture presented by the statistical analysis, and give
some conception of the psychological, economic, and social
factors involved.

282

CHAPTER IX

CASE STUDIES OP MOB ACTION IN THE SOUTH

That more lynchings result from mujcder than
from any other crime, and that a large majority, thoxigh
not nearly all lynchings are caused by Murder and Rap©
combined has been pointed out. In this chapter we shall
consider cases in which these and other crimes served
as stimuli to mob violence. Some of the crimes, ranging
from murder to minor offenses, and the consequent mob
episodes are given in detail so that a psychological
analysis of mob action may be undertaken in a later
chapter. Other cases which serve as illustrative
material are stated more briefly. The fact that, in
spite of all attempts at correction, yet a majority
of the people are apparently under the impression that
rape is the crime for which most lynchings occur makes
this aspect of the subject especially worthy of
consideration in the case studies.

riftij

283

By selecting the cases from widely scattered
localities we may add to the picture as presented in the
statistical analysis. Through the cases we may be able
to point out certain of the causal factors in mob actionj
and through a psychological &p.pi*oach additional light
may be thrown on the nature of this type of social
phenomena. An attempt is made to present cases for as
many different crimes and from as many localities of the
entire area studied as possible. It must be remembered,
hov/ever, that ordinarily it has been the cases of an
\inusual nature that have brought forth investigations and
detailed publicity. From the standpoint of a psychological
analysis of mob phenomena- this selection of cases is not
an invalidating circiimstance. On the other hand there is
one tendency to be guarded against if the reader would
gain an accurate picture of the situation: The cases as
presented are likely to leave the impression that burning
to death and other extreme forms of torture are more
frequently resorted to by mobs than is actually the case.
While there has been upwards of 100 Negroes burned to
death in the South since 1882 - the exact number is not
known - it is true that practically all mob victims meet
death by hanging or shooting. Moreover, as we have
pointed out, about 32 per cent of the lynchings in the
South since 1900 were for crimes other than Murder and
Rape, Although specimens of these cases are given, for
the reason noted above the proportion is not maintained.

.:;;jt;JO

284

Practically all cases of mob action for which there is
sufficient data for a case study either resulted from
atrocious crimes, or were characterized by extreme
torture. The same is not true of all mob episodes*

Case One gives some of the background out of
which the particular series of lynchings occurred. It
shows that under such circ\ira3tance3 emotional transfer
on the part of mob members may be so facilitated that a
number of lynchings result from a crime committed by an
individual.

Case 1

Alachua County, Florida; The Newberry Lynchings

Alachua County, Florida has the highest lynching
record in the state, with a total of 13 since 1900, The
total population of the cotmty in 1920 was 31,469, Of
this number 14,573, or 46,0 per cent were Negroes, In
1910, 55,7 per cent of the total population were Negroes,
In this coxinty 3,3 per cent of the whites were illiterate
in 1920 as compared to 2,9 per cent of the whites of the
state; and, 26,8 per cent of the Negroes as compared to
21,5 per cent of all Negroes of the state. The 13
lynchings since 1900 occurred over a period of 25 years
beginning in 1902 when two Negroes were lynched at New-
berry for Murder, In 1904 a Negro was lynched at High
Springs for Rape and in 1908 a white man, John Long, at

.o;

285

Newberry, for Murder, The next lynching In the county
was that of H, M. Owens In 1915 at Trenton as a result
of "popular prejudice". The follov/ing year two women
and four men were lynched at Newberry for "alleged
accessory to murder", after which there was not another
lynching for seven years. In 1923 a Negro was lynched
near Nev/berry for "cattle stealing". The last death in
the county by mob action was that of George Budding ton
at V/aldo on Deceinber 27, 1926, He was shot by "unknown
parties" for attempting to extort at the point of a
pistol and alleged debt from a white woman,"

Thus the lynching record of this county
possibly indicates that the writer was not alone in the
attitude expressed in a letter to Ivlr. Villard of Nev/
York, The latter had made a speech in Boston, that was
featured by the press, in which he suggested that the
Negro is a hiunan being entitled, among other things, to
legal justice and an education. He stressed the latter
point and referred to the fact that in the South Negroes
are not allov/ed in Public Libraries, Among several letters
which he received was the following from Newberry, Florida.
Dear Sir:

Replying to your statement ... will say the
reason the libraries in the Southern States are closed
to the lov^ dovm Negro eyes is because he is not worthy
of an education.

All the mean crimes, that are done are committed
by some educated Negro and fvirthermore, can you tell
■ me what a Negro is? If you can you can do more than
anyone else, for I have been dealing with Negroes for
the last fifteen years and the only thing I can tell
that he is a Negro and always will be as far as I have
any pov/er.

* *•

286

I would like for you to tell me where the n«gro
first originated, ^f you will look in the bible it
will tell you that he first originated from an animal.
And we Southern people don't care to equal ourselves
with animals.

The people of the South don't think any more of
killing the black fellows than you would think of
killing a flea.

So you have my opinion of Mr, Negro and if I
was to live 1000 years that v;ould be my opinion and
every other Southern man.

Hoping you v;ill \inderstand what a negro is by
this letter and resign yoxzr position,

(Signed) Wm. Cowart,

The mob episode of 1915 in which six persons,
including two women, were lynched near Newberry is given
below, as adapted from a report of an investigation made
immediately after the occurrence, A few changes have been
made in conformity to facts learned from later so\irces,
especially the records of the Special Term of Circ\iit
Court, Gainsville, Florida, 1915:

The town of Nev/berry was started when the
phosphate fields were being worked around there. The
phosphate fields shut down about five years ago, one
mine after another, Nov/ Newberry is just a perfectly
bleak, bare, dismal, dreary, little town of small
houses, with almost no shade trees. Most of the
houses are vacant, and there is not one decent public
building, such as schools, etc. About two- thirds of
the inhabitants are colored people who hire out to
white farmers. Most of the v/hite people seem to live
by little stores which they have there.

The road that runs from Gainesville to Newberry

% '■

■'J-^LJ'

287

is perfectly charming for about 18 miles. There are
truck farms, four big farms and many little ones.
These are owned almost entirely by colored people v/ho
seemed fairly prosperous and much respected.

About five miles from Newberry is Jonesville,
Here is a blacksmith shop and a little store. All
along little roads branch off leading to other towns.

It was between Jonesville and Nev/berry that the
rioting occurred - just a little beyond Jonesville is
a group of houses on a little rise of land belonging
to Boise Long and Dennis, Boise Long was adopted into
the Dennis family when he was a little boy and brought
up with the Dennis children, and has lived with them
ever since. In the little group of houses where Long
lived were his family and some of the Dennis family.
His uncle had a farm of a hundred acres several miles
away.

The white farmers around there and in Nev/berry
accused the colored farmers of stealing their hogs.
Hog raising here is pretty important because there is
a new firm in Gainesville v;hich buys the hogs and
ships them away to Georgia. The hogs run loose all
through the pines and along the roads. There are
fences but apparently the hogs are not in bounds.

The story is that the sheriff v/ent to serve a
warrant on Boise Long at tv/o o'clock on the morning of
August 13, which seemed an extraordinary thing to do -

:Yson-

tj_

-.ir.u-^

288

to go out on a lonely road to arrest a man at this
hour. The reason given is that he got the warrant
in Jacksonville and came out on the train at 12:30
at night to Gainesville, where he took an automobile.
Why he should he coming out on that train, or why he
should come out at that time, is not known. With
him went Dr. Harris (white). Some say that Dr. Harris
was the owner of the hogs and had had the warrants
sworn out,-^

They got to Long's place and the sheriff went
in to arrest Long. There again no one knows what
happened except that it is clear enough that Long
shot the two of them. They were rushed to the
automobile and taken back to Jacksonville and at
Jacksonville the sheriff died. There seems to be a
good deal of controversy as to just how the shooting
occurred.

Their going back to Jacksonville gave Long a
chance to escape. The Newberry people came down to

1, This case was reported by the NAACP in the October, 1916,
Crisis substantially as given here. It was the impression
at that time that the Sheriff went to serve a v/arrant on
Boise Long, who shot the Sheriff in resisting arrest. In
the light of the Circuit Court records the following

correction is to be made of the Crisis article and the
report of the investigator: The white men v/ent in search
of a Negro named Mills, v/hom they thought to be at the
house of Long. It was after Long failed to inform them
of the whereabouts of Mills that they attempted to arrest
him. They did not serve, or attempt to serve a warrant,
but told Long at 2:00 o'clock in the morning to put on
his clothes and go v/ith them. The Negro grabbed his gun
and "started to shoo tin' and runnln".

289

Long»s, and since he had escaped, they took his wife,
Stella, and the wife of Dennis, They were put in
jail on the ground that they refused to give informa-
tion. It is said that they were tortvired for informa-
tion.

Some time during the day the Newberry people
came back, ,,, Here the sheriff sort of drops out and
it is the hogs they are fighting about. They found
James Dennis down at Jonesville and shot him,
apparently for the sole reason that he belonged to
the Dennis-Long family. His brother, Bert, went up
to Newberry to buy a coffin and when he got there the
men threw him in jail, Bert Dennis, Mary Dennis, and
Stella Long were then in jail, ,,,

Then they met on the road coming from Nev/berry
John Baskin, a Negro preacher, who had a farm about
two miles away. It seems that he had been accused the
year before of cow-stealing and arrested, but was dis-
charged because there was not evidence enough to try
him. Meeting him there, these men took him in an
automobile back toward Newberry and lynched him. That
was the first of the hanging. He was later accused
of being the leader of the whole gang of hog- stealers.
Where the hangings took place there is a little
plot of trees, bays, water oaks, etc., a charming place,
within about a mile of Newberry, It seems queer that
they should have chosen this exquisite spot, but it is

290

said that in former years other lynchlngs occvirred
there, ••• that v/henever the Newberry men treated
themselves to a lynching it was at this same spot •••
known as "Hangman's Island",

Having lynched Baskln, the men went up to the
jail and took out the two women and man and lynched
them* Then it v/as over.

The people of Gainesville do not like it,
Gainsevllle is proud of its reputation. The whole town
is beautiful, and the people love it, both the vfhite
and the colored, and they feel that this is a disgrace.
All through Gainesville the feeling is that It is
demoralizing, and that something ought to be done about
it.

Case 2
The Lynching of Bud Johnson

This case is given nainly for the purpose of
showing some of the correspondence which followed betv/een
the NAAGP and the Governor of Florida,

Some of the facts concerning the lynching are
indefinite. The newspaper account sent out from Castle-
berry and the sworn testimony of one who claims to have
been an eye-witness are contradictory as to the cause of
the burning, Johnson v/as a rettirned soldier. One account
is that he attacked a v/hite woman; another, that he was

291

lynched for refusing to give up a farra recently left to

him by his deceased father, and that the accusation of

"attempted assault" was decided upon after the lyncliing.

It was thought by mob members, according to the report,

that lynching an ex-soldier would create considerable

discussion and might lead to their arresto Thus it

would be necessary to have "a good excuse for the

lynching."

The following dispatch sent from Castleberry

gives the newspaper account in brief:

..,, A delegation of prominent citizens called on the
county officers early today. They informed them that
they composed a reception committee appointed to enter-
tain Judge Johnson, a gentleman of color, in their
custody. The coiinty officers claimed that he was a
prisoner charged with having attacked a white woman
and had confessed. The delegation demanded that he
be turned over to them. The officers refused, so the
delegation proceeded to "take" Johnson av/ay from them,
which was neatly done v/ithout the loss of a single
life or gunshot. It is needless to say that the
delegation proceeded to "entertain" Johnson, who,
without any Tinique cerem.ony, was burned to death.

As stated the burning was not particularly a unique

ceremony. According to the affidavit referred to, it was

as follows:

They shouted "get ropes, get coal oil and gasoline

and let us bxirn this Negro up. He is bigoty. He is

saucy. He tliinks he is a soldier" ,., They had a rope

about his neck which had been thrown over the limb of a

tree and by which they raised him up from the ground at

intervals. They were choking him and he was bleeding

and kicking. He had on his soldier clothing ,.. One

said "Let's burn him", another said, "Let's tie him. up

,--r^ r-

292

to a limb. The way to stop Negro soldiers is to burn
them." Then they drew him up to a limb iintil a man
could go up to the little store by the mill and get
two buckets of kerosine each bucket holding probably
two or three gallons. We stood there looking at it •••
There were a few electric lights near the mill ,,, (a
man) came out, supposed to be a Baptist preacher. He
begged those men not to burn the Negro, that he had
done no wrong. Bud said that if they would not take
his life they might have his father's place... By
this tim-e they had gotten him out of Florida,
probably 10 feet over the line into Alabama, The line

v/as ascertained by Ivlr, , surveyor.,, V/hen they

had gotten him into Alabama the old man again insisted
that they should not burn him, "If you v/ill do any-
thing", he said, "give him a good whipping and let
him go away." But they said, "Not so. You v/ould spoil
this Negro.,, He is sullen," ... One said, "When v/e
get this one v/e will get all the Negroes".,, Then they
took the rope from the limb and dragged him up to a
stump... and fastened his hands behind the stum.p. They
.,, tied his feet. They poured kerosine ,,, on his head
and let it run down ,., then one bucket of gasoline,

and then had a yovmg lady, a cousin of , light

a nev/spaper with a match and set it to the body which.
In about two minutes or less, v/as wreathed in flames.
As the flames v/ent up they ,,« shouted "This is the way

293

we do all Negroes v/ho refuse to do what we want done,"

The newspaper account seems to have been general-
ly accepted in Florida, and of course it was the only one
knov/n in other sections of the country. The NAACP sent to
Governor Catts a telegram calling his attention to the
lynching of Johnson and another Negro, They pointed out
how the lyncliing record of Florida was a disgrace to the
Nation, and asked that the Governor prevent further dis-
grace by seeing that the lynchers were punished. Then the
following correspondence, of the nature referred to in
Chapter One, passed between the parties named above: First,
the Governor replied, by letter:

John R. Shillady, Secretary, etc.

Sir:

I have your telegram, calling my attention to the
lynching of two negroes in this State,

As you doubtless know I have exerted every effort
possible to keep down lynching in this State, I was not
cognizant of the lynching at Madison until I sav/ an
account of it in the papers. In regard to the one at
Milton, I v/as called up at midnight and told about the
crime committed by this man and had him carried to Pensa-
cola and put in Jail there; next morning the Sheriff of
Pensacola called me up and stated that he v/as not safe
there and I ordered him taken to Montgomery and sent
down to Jacksonville for safekeeping, but Sheriff Harvell
was overtaken and the man punished by death at the hands
of an inforiated mob from. Santa Rosa County,

You ask me to see that these lynchers are brought
to trial. This would be impossible to do as conditions
are now in Florida, for v/hen a negro brute, or a white
man, ravishes a v/hite woman in the State of Florida,
there is no use having the people, who see that this
man meets death, brought to trial, even if you could find
who they are; the citizenship will not stand for it.

You state that the man in Madison was burned to
death and that it adds to the horror of lynching and

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disgraces not only this State but the whole United
States, Your race is always harping on the disgrace
it brings to the State, by a concourse of white people
taking revenge for the dishonoring of a white v/oman,
when if you would spend one-half the time that you do,
in giving maudlin sympathy, to teaching your people not
to kill our v/hite officers and disgrace our yihlte
women, you would keep dovm a thousand times greater
disgrace,

I do not like the tone of your telegram at all,
because you tacitly commend the crime your people com-
mitted while you abuse our people for resenting the
wrong which your race has done, I have tried to be fair
to your people at all times but I do not believe in such
maudlin sentiment as this. If any man, white or black,
should dishonor one of my family he v/ould meet my pistol
square from the shoulder, and every white man in this
South, who is red-blooded American, feels the sam.e as I
do.

Therefore, you had best, as you say you are com-
posed of 180 branches of 48,000 people in 38 States,
spend some time in teaching the wanton, reckless negroes
of your race, who v/ander from City to City, County to
County and State to State, doing all the devilment they
can. We do not have any trouble from negroes who are
settled, own their homes, have their own property, cattle
and horses, but it is the roving, transient, irresponsible
and unmarried element of tramp negroes v/ho bring all
this disgrace on the coujitry,

I, as a representative of one million people,
both white and black, urge you to send out your
missionaries and get your race to stop this kind of wanton
and disgraceful ravishing of the white people of the
South, or the Governors of the South will not be able to
keep the mobs down, which I have used every effort
possible to do in Florida,

Yours very truly,

(Signed) Sidney J. Catts,
Governor of Florida,

Ten days later the matter of the two lynchings

was closed, when the Secretary of the NAACP replied to the

Governor as follows:

295

Hon. Sidney J, Catts, Governor,
Tallahassee, Florida,

Sir:

I have your letter of the 18th in acknowledg-
ment, reply and criticism of my telegram of the 15th,

First, I wish to commend the attempts made by
you to safeguard the prisoner at Milton, May I m.ake
it clear that in the telegram addressed to you we are
not directing criticism against you as an individual
but are speaking to you in your representative character
as Governor of the State of Florida, Do you not think
that when you ordered the sheriff of Pensacola to take
his prisoner to Montgomery in order to have him sent to
Jacksonville for safe keeping. Sheriff Harvell should
have knovm, as an experienced and responsible officer
of the State, the mind of the citizenship of v/hom you
speak in your letter and v/ould have been prepared with
sufficient officers to protect any prisoner at the hands
of the mob, no matter hov/ infuriated? The experience
of Governor Stanley of Kentucky who himself protected a
prisoner, and of the few other brave officers of the law,
warrants the belief that mobs which form in violation
of the lav/ will not attempt to carry out their purpose
if they are met with strong resistance on the part of
officers of the lav/ who realize the meaning of their
oaths and are determined that prisoners shall be tried
in the courts and not by mobs on the highways.

Your assertion that the citizenship of Florida
will not stand for seeing men who ravish white women
tried in the couj?ts is a serious commentary on our
laws. Burning to death is so horrible that we can
hardly believe, if we did not read yo\rr own words, that
you as Governor of a great state find it possible to
apologize for burning at the stake. This Association
does not apologize for crime or condone it in any way.
Your gratuitous assumption that I personally "tacitly
commend the crime" committed is absolutely unv/arranted.
In order to protest against the burning of a human being
at the stake, we did not feel that anyone would expect
that we must begin such protest by disavov/al of sjrmpathy
with the crime.

You speak a good deal about the horror of the
crime, Y.'e think the crime is horrible, but we insist,
as v/e believe all right-minded citizens of the United
States are coming more and more to insist, that it is
a greater crime for the governor of a state or the
sheriff of a county to stand by and see the laws m.ade
by the people ignored and flouted. \'!e do not believe
that it is a justification for this lynching of the law
to plead the wickedness of the criminal. Laws are made

296

to deal with such and the question Is whether In this
crucial time of the world's history American states
shall flaujit their disregard of law in the face of
President V/llson at Paris while he is endeavoring to
promote the peace of the world.

All the arguments you make about the horror of
the one crime do not touch the other - the man was only
accused of shooting a v/atchman, a crime which, certain-
ly, it was easy to punish in the coDurts.

Speaking of educating, you suggest that ovir
Association spend time teaching wanton, reckless Negroes,
May I suggest that as Governor of the State, you yooor-
self take up the task of providing proportionate school
facilities for the education of Negroes in your state.
According to the report of the United States Bureau of
Education, the relative per capita expenditures in
Florida are; teaching white children, |ll,50, and for
the colored children; $2.64.

Incidentally, though it is not a point of importance,
may I remark that I do not happen to he a Negro myself, as
you seem to asstime throughout yo;ir letter.

Sincerely yours, etc.

Case 3

A Lynching Series in Georgia, 1918

The series of lynchlngs in Brooks and Lowndes
counties, Georgia, which extended over a period of five
days in May, 1918, brought forth considerable publicity
as well as an investigation, the report of which was
requested by Governor Dorsey. TiVhile all available sources
have been considered the case as given is taken largely
from this report v/hich gave more details than the nev/spaper
accounts, and placed the total victims at eleven. It was
said that a total of 18 were lynched but the investigator
could not verify the number. The immediate exodus of

297

Negroes from the counties made a check-\ip impossible.

Brooks and Lowndes counties are in the richest
agricultural section of the state, in the southernmost
part near the Florida line. In both counties the Negro
population is in the majority. In 1920 the Negro popu-
lation of Brooks County was 58,1 per cent, and in Lowndes,
51,0 per cent. There had been a drop of 1,0 per cent and
2,0 per cent, respectively, since 1910, There is a high
rate of farm tenancy in both counties, as well as a number
of large plantations on v/hich hired labor is employed.
In the state as a whole 29,1 per cent of the Negroes above
10 years of age are illiterate, and 5,4 per cent of the
whites. In Brooks and Lowndes counties 35,6 per cent and
22,0 per cent respectively of the Negroes are illiterate.
Of the whites 4,5 and 3,0 per cent respectively are
illiterate. Thus the Negro illiteracy for Lovmdes and the
white illiteracy for both cotmties is lower than for the
state as a whole. The covmty seats are Quitman with a
population of about 4,500, and Voldosta with 8,000, In
each the Negro population is about 50 per cent.

The lynching history of the two counties r\ins
back for at least 38 years, A Negrowas lynched at
Voldosta in 1890 for Rape, In 1894 the lynching victims
in Georgia nxjmbered 20, 17 of whom v/ere lynched in central
and south Georgia, In Brook Covmty, on December 23, seven
Negroes were lynched for Murder, There was not another
lynching in either county until 1901 when an unknown Negro
v/as lynched near Quitman, for R8.pe, and another at Voldosta

■lY

298

for "murderous assault". Seven years later an unknown
Negro was lynched at Voldosta for "conspiracy to do
violence". In 1915 a Negro was lynched at Voldosta for
Theft, and in 1916 another for alleged burglary. Six
months before the mob episode described below, Jessie
Staten was lynched at Quitman for "insulting a iiiiite
woman" ,

In Brooks County, near Barney several miles
north of Quitman, Hampton Smith owned a large plantation.
He seems to have had considerable trouble from time to
time with his Negro employees. As a result of difficulty
in securing sufficient farm help he had adopted the policy
of going to the courts, paying the fines of Negroes con-
victed of crimes, and allowing them to work out the amount
on his plantation,

Sidney Johnson was fined ;|30,00 "for gaming".
He was unable to pay, so the amount was advanced by
Smith, for whom he went to work. After a time Johnson
asked for some money, claiming that he had more than
earned the amount of the fine. Smith refused, A few
days later Johnson failed to report for work and, when
questioned, claimed he was sick. Smith whipped him and
the Negro threatened his life, A few nights later,
according to statements made by Johnson before being
lynched, he shot Smith through a v/lndow, A bullet also
struck his wife, who was not severely injured. Smith
died instantly. This v/as on Thursday, May 16, 1918,

Posses were immediately formed to search for

"> ^i f-

cctmX '

") ^r>.l

299

Johnson, for it was kno'^n that he had threatened the
landlord's life, A report was now circulated - by whom
it was started is not knovm - to the effect that there
was a conspiracy among a ntunber of Negroes to kill Smith,
It was said that Hayes Turner had also threatened Smith
for beating his wife, Mary Turner, So the report was
that the conspirators had met at Turner's house.

On Friday morning about 8:30 a posse of
citizens catight Will Head, a Negro of the community.
Later in the day another Negro was arrested and both were
placed in the jail at Voldosta, 'i'hat night they were
taken five miles out of Voldosta, where they v/ere hanged
and shot. In this mob, according to a member, v,'ere many
citizens of Quitman, Voldosta and the surrounding country.
Of the 17 who were known and recognized by this member,
fotu? were close relatives to Hampton Smith, five were
farmers, one was a postal clerk, one a furniture store
clerk, and one a stock dealer. The two leaders were
from Quitman - one a professional man and the other a
merchant. These names have never been published; to do
so nov/ y/ould be both useless and embarrassing'.

On Saturday morning Hayes Turner was placed
in jail at Quitman, Later in the day the Sheriff decided
to take him to Moultrie, but was overtaken when about
three miles out of Quitman, and Turner v/as hanged. The
body remained there until Monday yUaen it was cut down by
some county convicts and buried about 50 feet av/ay.

300

During Sunday ,,, hundreds of automobiles, buggies and
Wagons bore sight-seers to the spot while many more
tramped there on foot.

Another Negro - probably Eugene Rice - was lynched
on Saturday afternoon. His connection with the crime v/as
not stated by any of the reports and the investigator could
find no one, white or black, v/ho knew why he was lynched.
That night trro other negroes were called from their homes
and were not seen again. About a v/eek later three bodies
of unidentified Negroes v/ere taken from Little River, a
few miles belov/ Barney, It is thought - though not knovm -
that these Negroes were also lynched on Saturday, May 18,
The bodies disappeared soon after being taken from the
River, hence were not identified,

Hayes Turner's wife said that her husband was
not guilty of conspiracy to murder, and tlireatened to have
members of the mob arrested if she could find out who they
were. On Sunday, about noontime, she was taken by a mob
and lynched in a unique manner, near Folsom's Bridge a
few miles from Barney, on Little River. '.Vith her anlcles
tied together, she was hung to a small oak tree, head
dovmward. Gasoline was poured on her and a match applied.
After her clothing was burned away, it was said by a member
of the mob, a man cut her open and an unborn infant
dropped to the ground. Hundreds of bullets v/ere then
fired into the body and the lynching was over. The mob
dispersed to search again for Jolinson, the criminal.

No one had thought to search in Voldosta for

301

him. The newspapers had said that he was hiding in
sv/amps near ic^itman. On Monday Johnson went to the homo
of a Negro and asked for food. This was readily given
after which the officers were immediately notified,^
Johnson said that he alone was responsible for Smith's
death, and boasted that he would never be taken alive.
Soon a large crov/d gathered, and, under the leadership
of Police Chief Dampier, surrounded the house to which
the Negro had fled. When firing began from both sides
the Chief was wounded in the hand, and another man was
struck in the neck. The firing was accelerated for a
few minutes after which Johnson dropped dead, V/ith a
rope around his neck his body was dragged behind an
automobile through Patterson Street, one of the City's
business thoroughfares, out near the scene of the
murder. There the body was burned to a crisp.

No one was arrested. Within tv/o months it
was estimated that more than 500 Negroes had migrated
from Brooks and Lov/ndes counties, and others expressed
intentions of leaving after crops v/ere gathered in the
fall.

2, Instances in which Negroes have thus cooperated with the
officers of the law are numerous. The statement, heard over
and over to the effect that "there never v/as a Negro who
would not conceal another in a crime" is not wholly
true.

302

Case 4
A Lynching In Bertie County, North Carolina

Lewlston, In Bertie County, North Carolina, has
a population of 244 people. It is a rural village sur-
rounded by farms occupied mostly by Negro tenants. There
had never been a lynching in Bertie County, although within
the past fev/ years there had been one at Kinston and
another at Goldsboro, both two counties distant to the
South-west,

According to press reports on March 23, 1918, a
Negro boy 19 years of age was accused of "assault on a
white woman". He was lynched fifteen minutes after being
caught, ,,, "None of the mob was masked, the lynching
created no excitement, no attempt has been made to as-
certain the citizens that hung the Negro, and it is pre-
sumably a finished job,"

Of course the people were surprised at this
incident, and regretted its occurrence. Moreover it
could hardly be repeated, just as it occurred on that date
and with the same results, anyv/here in the state. However
the case indicates the psychological and social background
out of which under the proper general state of emotional
excitement as existed in 1918 a Negro may be lynched
suddenly and with no after effects of a legal nature,

Later incidents in North Carolina, including one during
the past year which was widely discussed by the press,
indicate that this Bertie County lynching was not altogether
an isolated case.

303

Case 5
The Burning of Lloyd Clay at Vicksburg

V/arren County, Mississippi, borders on the river
and is located in the "lynching section" of the state.
In three of the counties v/hich border on Y/arren there have
been 17 persons lynched since 1900, and six have been
lynched in '.Varren County during the period. In 1903 two
Negroes were lynched near Vicksburg for Murder, and in
1907 another for the same offense. Then in 1915 Edward
Johnson, charged v/ith murder and cattle stealing, was
lynched near Vicksburg. The next lynching in the county
was that of Lloyd Clay, but violence toward Negroes was
not unkno'Am there during the War,

This is indicated by correspondence sent to and
received from the Treasiiry Department and the Department
of Justice at Washington, as well as through correspondence
directly with former residents of Vicksburg who had been
"run out ot tovm". During the 77ar some of the more wealthy
Negroes - business and professional men - were forced to
leave, A Negro doctor was tarred and feathered; they
told him it was because he did not subscribe for ^1000,00
worth of V^ar Savings Stamps, A Negro pharmacist was also
ordered in the name of the V/ar Savings Stamp Committee
and by "officers aad citizens" to leave Vicksburg. He
owned property on one of the "main corners" and for some
time white men are said to have tried to buy it from
him, A Negro business man who had gone to Nev/ Orleans

304

on a "fall-buying trip" was ordered not to retxirn to
Vicksburg, About the time he got to Chicago, and as
soon as he had sold his business - at a great loss it is
claimed - he was ordered back for military service. It
was maintained that as he had sold his business, and as
he had sufficient money to support his family for the
duration of the War, therefore it was proper to change
his military status from Fourth Class D to First Class
and to call on him to report immediately.

With this much of the history of Vicksburg
before us, possibly the only surprising thing about what
happened in 1910 is the method of punishment meted out
to Lloyd Clay; and that was no unusual occurrence within
the culture range of the citizens of Vicksburg, In no
other state is burning a more favorite method of
lynching.

We are informed by an eye-witness, white, who
now resides in another state, that the case of the burning
of Lloyd Clay as reported by the New Orleans Times Picayune
was substantially correct. She states that the bloodhounds
trailed the Negro to a box car v/here he had "attempted
to conceal himself",^ She does not know about the claim
that he v/as not "the right Negro", for "everybody said he
was the one". He was 19 years old instead of 24. She
also corrects the statement that he was put "on a truck"

S. There are conflicting reports as to where and hov/ Clay v/as
located, Cf, Seligmann, "Protecting Southern V.'omanhood, "
The Nation, Vol. 108, op. 938ff.

305

and taken to the tree from which he was hanged, shot and
turned. Instead "they tied him to the end of one of the
trucks and dragged him over town practically rendering
the Negro dead," Yvith these corrections we quote the
case as reported by the Times Picayune;

Vickshurg Mob Lynches Negro and Burns Body:
Storms Jail and Breaks in Three Steel Doors to get
Prisoner: Black Caught After Bloodhouns Chase:
Attempt on ^Alhite woman was One of a Series of Such
Crimes: Vicksburg, Miss., May 14, (1919) ,.,. Lloyd
Clay, Negro, 24 years old, was lynched and burned here
at 8:30 o'clock tonight by men v/ho stormed the jail,
threw the Sheriff, Prank Scott, into a corner, pinning
him to the floor, broke through a heavy one-inch steel
barred windov;, then broke a heavy iron door from its
hinges, and took the prisoner from his cell. The
Negro was charged v/ith attempting criminal assault
upon a vdiite girl shortly after 5 o'clock this morning.

Two white men were shot and another seriously
injured by a blow during the strtiggles attending the
lynching.

The Negro entered the home of Eelly Broussard
about 5 o'clock this morning and made his v/ay to the
room of a young girl boarder, apparently locking the
door behind him. The girl, ay/akened by his presence,
screamed and fought him off, Broussard, awakened by
the screams, v/as unable to get into the room. The
girl, hearing Broussard, sought to hold the Negro but

•?' 0

306

failed, the black breaking loose and making good his
escape,

John Gantt and his bloodhounds of Crystal Springs
were secured and they took the scent at the Broussard
home and after making a circuit of several blocks ran
to the Alabama and Vicksburg depot where they bayed
the Negro, Clay. He was arrested.

The girl was taken to the Jail, but did not
positively identify him, A large mob quickly gathered
about the jail and refused to be dispersed by the
officers. They v/ere informed that it v/as the wrong
Negro, but this had no effect. Some few left, but
others took their places.

Judge's Promise Vain

Judge Brien said if there v/as any evidence against
the Negro he v/ould call a special term of court and
organize a special grand jury. But this did not dis-
perse the crowd. Shortly after 6 o'clock the mob was
a\igmented by men from different parts of the city.
Sheriff Scott swore in a dozen special deputies v/ho went
inside the jail.

At 7:45 o'clock a mob came into the street in
front of the jail, ITiey had a piece of railroad track
16 feet in length and began to batter a jail v/indow.
Sheriff Scott attempted to talk to the crowd but the
men crowded close about him so he could not lift his
hands and quietly lifted him from his feet, then threw

fiiU^r

307

him over to a corner and forced him to the floor.
His efforts to resist were vain, M, G. Cockrell,
a contractor, who had been sworn in as a deputy, vms
rammed in the stomach by the railroad iron and fell
to the floor. He may be internally injured.

The men turned their attention to the powerful
steel bars and after hammering for twenty minutes the
steel was broken and the parts imbedded in the wall
were forced out. The breaking of the other doors was
a matter of short work, as the mob went at it with a
determination to get their man,

Negroes Cower in Terror

In the meantime the Negroes in the jail were
shrieking and Clay cowered in his cell, V/hen the men
reached him he exclaimed: "Give me a minute and I'll
tell you who the other Negro is."

But the crowd did not temporize. They took the
Negro out to the street, put him on an auto truck,
and 40 men boarded the truck. The Negro was taken two
blocks south to Clay street and then four blocks east
to Farmer and Clay streets, within a shot distance of
the Broussard home, A rope v/as fastened about his
neck and thrown over a tree limb 20 feet from the
ground. Some oil v/as poured on the Negro's head and
he was pulled into the air. He attempted to haul
himself up on the rope v/ith his hands. Then his hands
were tied. The next move was to apply the match to liis

308

oil-soaked head. A bonfire was started under his
feet, which dangled four feet above the ground, A
fusilade of shots was fired into the body and into
the air.

In some v;ay, Charles Lancaster, an onlooker,
was hit in the head with a bullet inflicting what may
prove a fatal v/ound, Lancaster is an engineer for the
Anderson Tully Lumber Company, A young man named
Bennis Stafford v/as shot in the arm. There vms a great
crowd present, including many women, v/ho looked on in
silence, The lynching is the culmination of a series
of attempts on women and young girls v;hich has continued
for weeks. Women and girls had become so apprehensive
they feared to retire at night. Two Negroes arrested
three v/eeks ago were spirited to Jackson, where they
are nov/ held for safe-keeping. Thousands viewed the
body roasting over the fire and then v/ent home.

The letter in which oxir informant verifies
the case as related above closes as follows: The un-
pardonable sin among southern people is for a Negro to
assault a white girl. In many communities the whites see
no llmJ.t as to the punishment such a fellov/ deserves. The
mob (at Vicksbxirg) was v/hat we v/ould term a "mad mob".
It v/as one of the most horrible things I have ever v/ltnessed.

The lynching occurred Immediately after luiss
Hudson, the girl boarder at Brossard^s, "said the word".

309

although she had previously failed to identify Clay as
her assailant. So far as we can discover the statement
of the Vicksburg Evening ^ost has not been contradicted:
"Brought before Miss Hudson, she declared he v/as not the
man v/ho attaded her last night," On the other hand it
is said that Miss Hudson "positively identified" a Negro
who for several days prior to and including May 14, had
been in jail,-

The jxa*y, headed by Coroner Crichlow, found that
Clay met death by mob action, "the said mob being unknov/n
to the jiiry,"

There are other interesting side-lights in the
case. The Evening Post pointed out that the mob (estimat-
ed at 1500) must have been an "amateur organization". After
Miss Hudson had "said the word" this mob "picked the first
tree v/hich came handy, which unfortunately, was in the
center of the city, siirrounded by residences of citizens
whose sensibilities were shocked by the occurrence,"
Even the "sensibilities" of the Vicksburg Herald imist
have been shocked. In an editorial on May 16 this "organ
of public opinion" pointed out that the evil inter-racial
condition is "aggravated if not actually provoked" by such
movements as the "negro country v/ide cam.paign for equal
right", and that although a "more kindly and just" race
relationship "all may strive for", yet "never in the v/ay

4. See The Kation, loc^ cit.

■ t nt ns

c3:l ^

310

of race equality in political and civil rights" as call-
ed for by certain "New York race propaganda".

The tree which the amateurish mob selected for
the burning happened to be in front of the residence of
Mrs, Ida M, Keefe, She asked of one of the men that the
tree be cut down. "Madam", he replied, "the tree is a
monxoment to the spirit of manhood of this commtinity who
will not tolerate crimes against their women folks. What
was done here last night was done for you and for every
woman and girl in Warren County," This viev/ v/as concL\rred
in by Mrs. E, P. Shaw, of Vicksburg, To her this maple
tree was "a monument to our young manhood and we women
and girls should stand behind men in a thing like this."

Case 6

A Straggler Strangled at Jonesville

Jonesville, Louisiana, in Catahoula Parish, has
a population of 1,029, a large majority of whom are v/hite.
In 1907 a cotton gin belonging to a Capt, J. W, Swaynzoe
was burned down at Jonesville, "and the following night
two Negroes were hanged to a pecan tree within the tovm
limits for the crime. "^ They were Sam Jones and Arthur
Gardner, Press reports at the time stated that a third
Negro v/as shot for the same offense, but the investigator

5, This case is taken from a report sent in by a former
Graduate student of the University of North Carolina,

•JC-r

311

could not verify the statement. Nor was he able to find
out why the Negroes v/ere charged with the burning of the
gin. Information from those who remember the affair at
all is to the effect that a small niomber of men did the
lynching before the people in general knev/ what was
happening, and it seems that no one v/as interested to the
extent of inquiring how the Negroes were knovai to be
guilty. The general attitude seems to have been that
those who hanged the Negroes must have had some reason
for doing so, and that it did not matter particularly
just what this reason was.

Apparently this attitude as regards the im-
portance of the Negroes life and of his place in the
community has changed but little since that time, A
resident of the town states that the Negroes and the
whites get along fine in Jonesville "as long as the Negro
stays in his place", but when he takes some "biggety" or
"radical" move the whites "don't mind waiting on him".
Generally speaking the Negro respects the whites and the
whites "have a feeling of guardianlsm and protection" for
the Negro just so long as he "acts as a Negro should".
The little chores and gardening jobs around the white's
homes are usually done by some "Uncle Charlie" or "Aunt
Susie", or even a young Negro boy or girl. The merchants
don't mdnd crediting a Negro if they know him any more
than a white man "and in many cases they had rather".
But they don't like Negro strangers and stragglers in
Jonesville,

312

Such a memlDer of the Black Ulysses tribe came
to tov/n on or about August 30, 1919. He v/as not only a
stranger and a straggler but he utterly and egregiously
failed in that fundamental of all requirements: he did
not "stay in his place"; and he did not "act as a Negro
should". This vinknov/n Negro v;as found in the house of a
Mr, Davis, '.Vhy he v;as there, of course, v/ill never be
known* It may have been for the purpose of stealing
food or clothes. If he had possessed intelligence enough
to be "responsible" for his acts he would hardly have
come for the purpose of attacking Mrs. Davis while her
husband v/as there in the house with her. It is thought
that he was in the house when the Davis couple entered,
whereupon he hid under the bed in one of the rooms, St
any rate Mrs. Davis v/as first to discover his presence
whereupon she called her husband who had gone into
another room. He came quickly with a shot gun and held
it on the Negro until some neighbors could arrive.

"A number of whites made up a gang, took the
Negro to the outskirts of town and hanged him to the limb
of a sycamore tree. He remained hanging there until late
the following day v/hen he was taken down by some members
of his race." The investigator v/as informed that "the
person who tied the knot around the victim's neck was a
Negro of v/ealth and high standing in Jonesville, He did
it of his ov/n accord, too." The Negro is well liked by
the whites of Jonesville, He said on the occasion of the
lynching: "I will help hang any Negro that would step

J13

so lov/ dov/n and mean as to try to do harm to any white
lady in this town,"

Thus peaceful Jonesville where there is "a
feeling of guardianlsm and protection" tov/ard the Negro
had an outbreak of mob violence on this hot August night:
An unknown straggler v/as strangled without being question-
ed as to why he did not stay in his place and act as a
Negro should.

Case 7
The Lynching at y.'aco Texas

The city of waco, Texas, is the county seat of
McLennan County, Situated on the Brazos River, about
half way between Dallas and Austin, it is the junction
point of seven railways. The city is in a fertile
agricult\iral region with grain and cotton as the chief
products, and with nearly 200 manufacturing establish-
ments, representing some 70 different industries.

From a population of 14,445 in 1890, Waco had
grown to be a city of 26,500 in 1910, The v/hite popu-
lation in these 20 years had almost exactly doubled, v/hile
the colored population had increased from 4,000 to 6,000
forming thus 23 per cent of the total population.
Practically three-fourths of the population is native white
of native parentage,

Waco is well laid out. The streets are broad.

514

over 60 miles of them being paved in 1916, There was
also an excellent sev/age system of 100 miles and a fine
city owned water system, as v/ell as city parks of which
the progressive citizens were justly proud. There v/ere
39 white and 24 colored chiirches: Baptist 14; Methodist,
9; Christian, 4; Presbyterian, 3; Jewish, 2; Evangelistic,
Ij Lutheran, 1; Catholic, 1; Christian Science, 1; and
the Salvation Army, 1, The colleges are: Baylor
University, Baylor Academy, the Catholic College, the
Independent Biblical and Industrial School, all Y/hite;
and the Central Texas College and Paul Qiuinn, colored
colleges. High schools and National Banks were also as
numerous in 1916 as was required for ample provision in
these respects.

Near the country town of Robinson, some six
miles from \'/aco, lived a v±iite family of four - the
Pryars - who ov/ned a small farm. This they cultivated
themselves v/ith the help of a "hired man", a colored boy
of 17, named Jesse Washington, Jess was a big, well-
developed fellow, but ignorant, being unable either to
read or write. His teacher, a college graduate, stated
that she was unable to teach the boy to read or write.
From other facts to be noted below, he was evidently
feeble-minded.

The Crime

On Monday, May 8, 1916 while Mr, Fryar, his son
of 14, and his daughter of 23, v/ere hoeing cotton in one

315

part of their farm, the Negro boy was plov/ing and sov/ing
cotton seed near the house where Mrs. Fryar was alone.
He went to the house for more cotton seed. As Mrs, Fryar
was scooping them into the bag which the Negro held, she
scolded him for beating the mules. He knocked her down
with a blacksmith's hammer which he had placed nearby.
Then, according to his later confession, he criminally
assaulted her, after v/hich he killed her with the hammer.
He threw the hammer into a nearby briar patch. In his
confession he v/illingly told officers where it was. After
committing the crime the Negro returned to the field,
finished his v/ork, and went home v/here he lived in a
small cabin v/ith his father, mother and several brothers
and sisters.

Vi/hen the murdered woman v/as discovered suspicion
pointed to Jesse Washington, and he was found, after having
eaten supper, sitting in his yard whittling a stick. He
was arrested and immediately taken to jail in Waco. Just
before midnight a mob, composed of Robinson people and
farmers, visited the jail. They came in with about 30
automobiles, each crov/ded beyond capacity.^ There was
no noise, no tooting of horns, the lights were dim, and
some had no lights at all. They looked, but could not
find the Negro who had been taken away to HlllsborOo
There the sheriff obtained a full confession without any

6, These facts v/ere given by Vi'aco officers.

316

third degree methods, according to the lav/yers who de-
fended Washington, A part of the mob v/ent to this county-
seat to get the Negro, but he v/as again removed; this
time to Dallas, Later a small group of business men from
Waco gained the pledge of the Robinson people that they
would not lynch the boy, provided the authorities v/ould
act promptly, and if the criminal wou.ld vmive his legal
rights to a change of venue and an appeal,

A second confession in v/hich the Negro v/aived
all legal rights was obtained in the Dallas jail. The
Grand Juvj indicted him on Thursday, and the case was set
for trial on Monday, May 15, Of course not all of the
Robinson people v/ere in on the pledge made to the Waco
business men, and, under stimulus of the nev/spapers,
certain elements in and around '.Vaco became more and more
excited as the day of the trial drev/ near, when the Negro
would be brought back to Waco, On Sunday, at midnight,
he v/as brought back and secreted in the office of the
judge. There was practically no doubt whatever of his
guilt, and even less doubt that on the next day, if the
lav/ took its course, he would be tried, condemned and
hanged. There had not been a lynching in Waco for 11
years, when in 1905, on August 8, Sank Majors v/as lynched
for Rape,

The news v/ent out that 7/ashlngton would be in
Waco, ready for trial on Monday morning, and the crov/d
began to gather in from the surrounding country on
Sunday, When court opened Monday morning, according to

317

rough estimates, 1,500 crov/ded into the court room -
the capacity of which is about 1/3 that number -
while 2,000 waited outside. The district judge of the
criminal court elb07/ed his way through the crowd to the
desk. The Negro was brought in from the Judge's office
where he had remained secreted since the sheriff brought
him from Dallas in the middle of the night. His entrance
was a tense moment, the attention of the entire group
centered directly upon him, and "emotions ran high".
As the jurors v/ere called, members of the crowd yelled,
"We don't need any juryj"

The trial was a hurried affair, for, although
six lawyers defended Washington, and his confession was
questioned and debated, the jury had been out three
minutes and returned by 11:22 A, M, with the follov/ing
verdict: "V/e, the jury, find the defendant guilty of
murder as charged in the indictment and assess his
punishement as death." (Signed), W. B. Brazelton, fore-
man, "Is that yovir verdict, gentlemen?" asked Judge
Munroe. "Yes" was the answer; and as the defendant
had waived all legal rights, there v/as no appeal, and
he was to hang at three that afternoon.

The Lynching

There was a pause of a full minute while the
judge made the entry: "May 15, 1916: Jury verdict of
guilty." Meanwhile the court stenographer, according to
his later statement, knowing v/hat v/as soon to happen.

318

slipped back of the sheriff and out of the room, "The
sheriff slipped out too", says the court stenographer*
The sheriff claimed that he was under no further
obligations after he had brought the defendant to the
court room safely. At the end of this tense minute of
absolute quiet, a big tall 7/aco citizen, driver of an
Annheuser brewery truck, yelled from the back of the
court room, "Get the nigger."

The mob surged forv/ard and took the Negro be-
fore the court could pronounce judgment. They rushed
him dovm the back stairs into the crowd outside and tied
him with a chain to an automobile. The chain was put
into his mouth "so he would not choke too soon". Many
had come a long way "to attend this part and they didn't
v/ant it to end in a minute". Everybody seemed happy;
they shouted and sang like a bunch of fans at a ball
game, according to a 7/aco paper.

The Negro's clothes were cut up and distributed
as souvenirs. Somebody cut off one of his ears. The
Waco Times Herald published the same afternoon said, "On
the way to the scene of the burning people on every hand
showed their feelings in the matter by striking the Negro
v/ith anything obtainable; some struck him with shovels,
bricks, clubs, and others stabbed him and cut him until
when he was strung up his body v/as a solid color of red,
the blood of the many wounds inflicted covered him from
head to foot,"

They took Washington to a tree on the City Hall

319

lawn just outside the window which the Mayor shared with
the photographer to whom we are indebted for pictures of
the scene, A chain was throvm over the limh of this
tree, and while the fire was being lit, the bloody victim
was drawn up from the ground. As the chain tightened
around his neck, he reached up to grab it and his fingers
were cut off, A member of the mob unsexed the Negro,
To quote agains from the Times Herald;

"Fingers, ears, pieces of clothing, toes, and other
parts of the negro's body were cut off by members of
the mob that had crowded to the scene as if by magic
when the word that the negro had been taken in charge
by the mob vms heralded over the city. As the smoke
rose to the heavens, the mass of people, ntimbering
in the neighborhood of 10,000, crowding the City Hall
lawn and overflov/ing the square, hanging from the
windov/s of buildings, viewing the scene from the tops
of buildings and trees, set up a shout that was heard
blocks away. Onlookers were hanging from the windows
of the City Hall and every other building that command-
ed a sight of the burning, and as the negro's body
commenced to burn, shouts of delight went up from the
thousands of throats, and apparently everybody de-
monstrated in some way their satisfaction,.,"

The body of the Negro v/as burned to a crisp, and
was left for some time smoulderir-g in the remains of the
fire, "Women and children who desired to view the scene
were given a chance to do so, the crov/ds parting to let

320

them look on", says the newspaper account. One man who
held his little son on his shoulder where he could get
a good view, said later: "My son can't learn too young
the proper way to treat a rdgger,"

By 12:00 o'clock the crov/d began to disperse.
About an hour later a cowboy v/ho had ridden in off the
range tied the remains (as shown by picture No, 4) of the
Negro and rode over town with the skeleton dangling at the
end of his lariat. He then rode out to Robinson and back
to Waco, still dragging the skeleton, Hov; it was finally
disposed of is not known. It is said to have been throvm
into an ash can. The links of the chain with which the
criminal was hanged, as well as his teeth, were sold as
souvenirs by some small boys.

The small town and country people from around
7/aco went back home. By Saturday hardly a person wanted
to talk of the lynching. The people were again busy;
life was going on in the normal v/ay. Newspaper men,
lawyers and judges thought the best thing to do was to
"forget it". Soon afterwards the photographer v/ho made
the follov/ing photographs of the affair, vn?ote a letter
to one Y/ho inquired about the pictures saying, "V/e have
quite selling the mob photos. This step was taken because
our 'City dads' objected on the grounds of 'bad publicity',
As v/e wanted to be boosters and not knockers, we agreed
to stop all sales,"

"Fix it up as well as you can for Waco" said
an ex-mayor to a reporter from another city, "and make

321

Picture 1. THE CRO^^IVD AT WACO

/■r7^r-A

#7^^-

322

Picture 2. THE BURKING

I'f7^7 D

% . T

Picture 3. ONLOOKERS

323

/^^^7'S

Picture 4. AFTER THE BURNING

324

325

them understand that the better thinking men and women
of Waco were not in it."

The Philadelphia Press discussed Texas, Russia,
Turkey and Germany in the same editorial, and pointed out
that primitive red Indians could not have outdone the
Texas Mob. Commenting upon the headline: "Over 15,000
men, women and children see Negro boy lynched in Texas",
the Chicago Evening Post remarked: "This, if v/e remember
rightly, is the noble State that is always hollering to
be allowed to 'clean up barbarous Mexico'", Mrs, Fryar
and a Negro moron ?;ere gone; and by a busy world soon
forgotten.

Case 8

Mob Action at Princeton, '.vest Virginia: The Lynching of

Robert JohnsonV

According to the records there has been only
one lynching, at least during the past 45 years, in
Mercer County, West Virginia, The only information which
we have on the case is the report by Oppenheira, It is
too late now to verify the facts as stated, or to deny
them. In the light of cases given above the report is
stiggestive, and is given here for v/hat it is worth.

7, Adapted from the report of a personal investigation by
James Oppenheira, "The Independent", Vol, 73, (1912) pp»
823-827.

326

In 1912 Bluefield West Virginia was "a rail-
road yard v/ith houses all around it," Its iiiain street
looked down on coal cars and sv/itch engines and up on
the other side at splendid cliffs on the top of which
were immense billboards advertising talcum pov/der and
the Appalachian Power Company, The latter sign, il-
liiminated and in motion, dominated the tv/inkling valley
by night. Seventeen hundred people dwelled there in
an atmosphere of soot, among the white vapor, the
trundling of wheels, the alarm of bells and the incessant
sound of escaping steam.

The little valley is distributing center for the
adjacent coal region, and necessarily Bluefield was a
town of workers; a tov/n of railroad and coal men, with
the shops, hotels, jails, churches and saloons that de-
pended upon them. Life died there with sundown for
those inhabitants v/ho were not drawn to the bars, the
prayer-meetings and the moving pictures,

Bluefield had a fascinating human mixture, reminis-
cent of border days; there v/ere the natives, the lanky
lovable Virginians; there Y/ere the Yanlcees and '/Westerners;
a few Slavs and Germans and Italians; a non-descript
shifting populations of rough laborers; and, an immense
number of Negroes, In fact there were so many Negroes
that the county was divided in its government; the Judge,
for instance, being a Republican, the prosecuting attorney
a Democrat, The investigator v/as reminded further of
border days by the tales of the feuds, and the swift

327

pulling of guns and the assassination of citizens.

It was undoubtedly the presence of the Negro that
gave the town some of its dominant characteristics.
There was a sharp social cleavage, a sharp industrial
cleavage, as well as political division. The white
Railroad workers, objected to doing teamv/ork with Negro
firemen; and socially the Negro was shut into his own
part of town,

A member of the local government said to the
investigator: "We lost a great war, and saw our ignorant
nigger slaves put in power over us and our women insult-
ed. Every spot in the South has its woman or two brand-
ed for life. And the worst riff-raff of the North came
down to lord it over us. What could we do? Our only
way to win back power was through o\ir Ku KItix Klan -
through lynch law. There was no other law to help us.
And nov/ the niggers must be kept do\vn. I'm a humanitarian
all right, but the nigger must know his place,"

As one of the ministers put it: "There is no trouble
so long as they know their place, I've preached in their
churches for them; and I 'm friendly as anyone to them.
You know vie have a colored institute down here where they
are giving the niggers training. That bunch is all right.
You can phone over there and a fellow will drop his book
of Latin or Algebra and come over and scrub the floors
for you. That's the proper spirit,"

A few days before the time in question, at

328

Princeton, a town ten miles away, the rumor went
forth that a Negro had insulted a white woman. He
escaped unpunished, as there was no evidence against
him. Just the same "White Womanhood" had been "in-
sulted", and feeling ran high for a day or so, then
began to subside. Such is a sketchy outline preceding
the morning of September 4, 1912,

Gordon White v/as a construction foreman in the
railroad yards, a stocky back-bent mountaineer, quiet
and passionate, very pleasant with his neighbors, but
hard on the Negroes, He believed "in drlvin' the
niggers with a v/hip and sweatin* the work out of them,
for "they are a good-for-nothin« lazy lot," He had a
neat house on Caroline Avenue, and here, recently he had
lived alone v/ith his daughter Neta, his v/ife being away
on a visit to his other children in Virginia, Nita was
16; an attractive, blossoming girl, with the hearty
mountaineer freshness and vitality, and, as one of the
policemen put it, "with more than the usual run of
nerve," She worked alone in the house while her father
was in the yards. He left her, as usual, at seven on
the morning of September 4th, At a quarter to nine Neta
flung open one of the sitting room windov^s and screamed
for help. Neighbors rushed in and found her lying on
the floor in a "distraught condition", A doctor was
called and found that beyond the shock, the girl had not
been harmed, the assailant, - if there had been one -
probably fleeing when the dog began to bark. One who

329

saw her two weeks later stated that there v/as hardly
evidence even of shock; she seemed sparkingly alert
and animated, though there were times, the doctor
said, when she was seized v.ith nervous chills and the
mention of the word "nigger" sometimes brought these
on.

The story which she told was as follows: At
about 7:30 there was a knock at the front door. She
opened it and a Negro stepped in. She thought she had
seen this Negro before; that he had called several
weeks previously to get a coat for her father. This
time he said that her father had sent him for the
tape-line, Neta turned to the stair-case; whereupon
the Negro seized her and attempted to stifle her cries
by forcing a large bandana handkerchief into her mouth.
At the same time he dragged her into the sitting room.
She screamed, hov/ever, and was answered by the loud
barking of the dog in the basement. She lost con-
sciousness then, and when she awoke, crawled desperately
to the windov;, raised it, and called for help. In spite
of the speed and excitement of the occurrence she gave
a vivid description of her assailant. He was quite
black, about five and a half feet tall, medium slender,
heavy moustache, looked as if he had a week's growth
of beard, dressed in overall jacket, light hat, blue
overalls with bib coming over breast, v/ore watch chain
across breast to pocket in overalls, dark or dirty
shirt, had red bandana handkerchief, and low cut shoes.

330

About nine o'clock, then, the alarm was given,
and soon citizens and officers, afoot, on horseback
and in automobiles were making a search of the vicinity.
Two Negroes were arrested, Walter Jackson and Robert
Johnson. Suspiction immediately attached to the latter.
Although he did not tally v/ith the description - he wore
black trousers, a fresh shirt, and a small growth on his
upper lip in place of a moustache, and he was a large,
heavy fellow - yet he "spoke between his teeth" and
showed great sullenness, refusing at first to answer
questions. According to the statements of several who
were present, "he had a guilty look about him", and as
one discerning citizen put it: "Now he mightn't a done
the crime; but there's no doubt in my mind that the
nigger did do something."

Questioned by the local magistrate, however, he
said he had come to Bluefield that morning from Graham,
a village three miles distant; that as his underwear and
shirt were in a soiled condition, he stopped at a store
and bought a new set; and that he had then gone to a
cornfield not far from the White house and there made
the change. He had previously been working at Jaeger,
and had come over to Graham in box-cars,

Johnson v/illingly took officers to the cornfield
and the clothing v/as found. Then he and Jackson v/ere
taken to the V/hite house in an automobile. The father
was nov/ at home in a frenzied condition, but not so far
gone but that he could precede the suspects to his

331

daughter's room and assure her, before witnesses:

"Neither of them niggers ever v/orked for me.
They ain't got the right man."

The Negroes v/ere brought in, and Neta failed to
Identify either. After further questioning, however,
she thought possibly Johnson "reminded" her of the
assailant, but the assailant had been dressed different-
ly, YvTiereupon the two Negroes v/ere taken back to jail,
and the search continued.

In the meantime the news spread throiigh the town,
excitement grew, and "something had to be done". Doubt-
less the police felt this, for v/hat they next preceded
to do v/as quite amazing. They made Johnson put his dirty
clothes back on, then took from another Negro overalls
Y/ith a watch chain across the breastj and these, too,
were put on Johnson. In other words, they dressed him
to fit the description. According to one v/itness,
Johnson then cried out: "I'm ruined - now I'm ruined."

It vms late in the day nov/ and the streets were
filled with excited crov/ds. The officers took Johnson
in the automobile through the main thorofare. By this
time Neta v/as in a bad nervous condition, a condition
bordering on hysteria. And when Johnson v/as brought into
her bedroom she threv/ up her hands and shrieked: "That's
the manj that's the manl"

At once the officers put Johnson in the automobile
again, and breaking the speed limJ.t, shot through the
tovm, and away to the town of Princeton, ten miles off.

332

This vms a bold advertisement to all of Bluefield that

the "rapist" had been caught. A great crowd set off

at once to lynch the prisoner.

Of course Princeton v/as "ripe for exciteicen-lf^'^

The Negro v/ho vms supposed to have insulted a v/hite

v/oman v/as remembered, A great crowd surrounded the jail;

the sheriff v/as disarmed; a search v/as made inside, but

Johnson had been "spirited" away to some other hding

point, presumably to Berkley. After waiting nearly all

night the crowd dispersed, and Princeton quited doT/n»

The following headlines appeared in the Bluefield Daily

Telegraph the next morning:

Negro Fiend Attacks Bluefield Girl and Entire City
is Stirred as Never Before, - Prompt Action by
Officers and Citizens Results in Capture of Man Be-
lieved to be Guilty One... iinraged Citizens Gather
to Wreak Vengeance on Negro accused of the Crime,

Hov/ever, the Daily Telegraph pointed out in its
nev/s colujnn that there was some doubt that the right
man had been caught, and counseled further search.

But evidently few of the Princetonians had any
doubts; for, learning that morning that Jolinson was in
the tov/n of Rock with tv/o police officers, a crowd of
railroad men asked the railroad officials for the loan
of a special train to give chase. The loan was refused
them, whereupon the men "took" a road engine and two
coal cars and hurried av/ay for Rock, They v/ere a bit
late, however, for the officers had again attem.pted to
move the prisoner. They side-tracked the train and v/ent
on afoot, on trail of the officers and prisoner, who v/ere

333

soon overtaken. The officers v/ere "intimidated", end
the prisoner brought back to Princeton on a freight
train.

The train reached Prioeton at 7:30 P, M, But
the news had preceded its arrival and an enormous crowd,
many members of which no doubt were from Bluefield,
swayed around the depot. This crowd followed the rail-
road men and Johnson to the courthouse. They v/ere met
here by Judge Maynard, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney
Ross and the Rev, Dr, Hamilton, Neta VvTiite's pastor.

Judge Maynard blocked the doorway and made him-
self heard. He said that there v/as considerable doubt
about the identity of the Negro, and. Indeed there was.
There is absolutely no legal evidence that Johnson com-
mJLtted the crime, nor even that such a crime v/as com-
mitted. There is merely the word of a sixteen-year-old
girl who could not identify Johnson the first time he
was brought before her, and only accused him when he v/as
dressed to fit her description; a girl who said seriously
that she lay an hour and a half in a faint, who stated
that a bandanna had been stuffed in her mouth, a
bandanna not aftery;ards found on the premises.

As for Johnson, legally he had an alibi proved
by himself, by the father and daughter. He may in some
strange and inexplicable way have been guilty, but v/hat
evidence did they have that he v/as guilty? V/hat they
did have all tended to establish his innocence. These
questions were never asked, much less answered; (1) Had

334

Johnson ever v/orked for Gordon V/Tiite? (2) W'hj did
Neta l/\'hite allow her assailant in the house if she
did not knov/ him? and if she knev/ him so v/ell that she
recalled his coming a couple of weeks previously, why
was it so hard for her to identify him a few hoiirs
later? (3) If Johnson never worked for Gordon V'lTiite
how could he so soon master the following facts: that
Neta was alone at home; that V»hite was in the habit of
sending for various articles; that he might send for
such a thing as a tape-line? (4) Had Johnson been v/ork-
ing, as he said, at Jaeger? (The investigator was told,
but this was hearsay, that the Jaeger time-books prove
this. The fact could easily have been ascertained),
(5) If Johnson had been guilty would he have so willing-
ly shown liis captors where he had discarded his dirty
clothes? And is it conceivable that he would have
lingered so near the scene of the crime when he made
the change of clothes?

Judge Maynard pledged a speedy trial, promising
that he would convene court the next morning. He pleaded
with the mob, doubtless vrfLth much sincerity, and finally
introduced R, Hamilton, who said in part:

I am not here to save this negro. This young woman
wo was attacked is a member of ray Sunday School. A
few months ago I stood at the altar and received her
into my church. She is a bright sweet girl and is as
close to m.e almost as one of my own family. If this
prisoner did what he is charged with, he ought to die,
and I care not how soon. I am not here to save the
negro, but to save this sv/eet girl from, a serious
responsibility. She must say the v/ord that v/ill mean
life or death to him. If it should t'orn out that she

335

is mistaken it would be a terrible memory for her
to bear through life, I am not trying to save this
negro, but to save you men from a terrible mistake,
if it be a mistake and to save you from a crime, for
it is a crime to take the law in your own hands.

In short, it must be said that the officials of the
county and the girl's pastor met the issue courageously
and squarely. And their v/ords had such effect that the
judge was able to swear in members of the mob as de-
puties to protect Johnson in the jail. The prisoner v/as
then placed in a cell and the crowd began to disperse.

At this point Neta 'ifvliite's father arrived in an
automobile from Bluefield for the purpose of "identifying
the man" - this, after his positive statement the day
before that no such man had ever worked for him. Ac-
cording to '(rliTiite him.self : "I was took into the jail,
and there was niggers in different cells, I seen
Johnson in one of them, and the minute I set eyes upon
him I knowed he v/as guilty, I knowed it, I just knov/ed
it, I could tell by the v/ay he looked. And v/hen he seed
me lookirg at him. he says, 'Boss, I never v/orked for you,
did I, now?' But I give him a look, like this, and I
passed on around to the other cells. And then I come
back to Johnson and I give him a look again, and I
knowed it was he I just knoY/ he was guilty. Any-
way, I done as v/ell as any man could in the circum.stances,
I blame them, I blame them for taking me over there
when I was crazy v/ild. Of course if I'd a had two days
to cool dov7n inj But I hadn^t slept a v^ihk the night
before, V/liy did he say 'I'm ruined' v/hen they put the

336

other nigger** clothes onto him? .... I'm just sure
he was guilty. Couldn't look at me in the eyes, he
couldn't. I seed it the minute I got sight of him...
So I said it was he and I said I v/anted him lynched,,".

Now suddenly the large crowd changed into a seeth-
ing mob, members of v/hich leaped after the Negro, He
screamed to the officers begging them to kill him, to
shoot him, not to let him fall into the hands of the
mob. Many hands dragged him and beat him; "and a great
hoT/ling spread over the street, like so many wild animals
aroused in the jungle; and there were curses and screams
and shrieks, and the eddying and surging and clashing of
many bodies; and in the center, gradually working down
the electric-lit street, the screaming Negro. Knives
were jabbed into him, he was stoned and beaten with
clubs. Then a chain was put around his neck and they
tried to hang him to a trolley support and failed. Next
a man climbed a telephone pole with the chain, the Negro
was raised up, shots were fired into the body, and the
crowd paraded round and round, yelling and shotting and
mutilating."

In less than 48 hours the Bluefield Daily Tele-
graph printed the following headlines: "Not Certain that
Mob Victim Was the Guilty Man. County Official Bases
Grave Doubts on Train of Circumstances," The Governor,
of course, was aroused and asked for action; the prosecut-
ing attorney and Judge Maynard began work at once; the
grand jury was convened, but no indictments were found.

I t

337

As one of the citizens put it: "The nigger's dead; we
can't bring him to life again. Quiet has been restored.
What's the use of making more trouble?" Another expressed
the opinion that no jury in that region would find any man
guilty in a lynching affair.

One of the officials said to the investigator
"in grave earnestness": "The whole thing was wrong and the
guilty parties ought to be brought to justice, i^d I'm going
to help to bring them to justice. I can't tell you now
badly I feel about it. For why didn't they lynch him in
the regular way - between midnight and dawn, v/ith masks,
and no fuss about it? But this way it's a disgrace to the
town, and it's called us all into notice. Dov/n south of us
you never hear tell of a lynching. And why? Just because
they've got the sense to follow the old traditions."
I saw the effect of the lynching upon old man White,
says Oppenhelm. I saw him two weeks after he had sentenced
Robert Johnson to death because he "just seed he was guilty".
He sat in a low rocker in the sitting room where the attempt
at assault had been made; he was in his stocking feet,
his great shock of dark hair stood startllngly up from
his wrinkled forehead; and his face had the sort of
expression I have seen among the insane on Randall's Islarri. .
The eyes were burning bright. And he could not be still
a moment. Though several of us talked across the room, he
did not listen to us, but continually broke in, in a

338

harsh, lov/ voice, repeating monotonously:

"I just know he was guilty. V^hy did he say
I'm ruined' when they put the overalls on him?" And
again: "I done the right thing and I knov/ it. All
the people here know I done the right thing,"

And over and over again: "I blame them. They
shouldn't a taken me over that night,"

Case 9
The Person County Lynching

While in a majority of lynchings the guilt of
the victim is not questioned, it is probable that the
Negro hanged and shot in Bluefield was not guilty. If
courts, after longer deliberation, make mistakes it is
hardly to be doubted that mob members are at times in
error concerning the guilt of their victim. The follow-
ing case, for example, indicates that an innocent Negro
was lynched in North Carolina in 1920, and shows the
danger of quick action based upon circumstantial evidence.

On July 7, 1920, Ed Roach was taken from the
Person County jail, at Roxboro, and hanged to a church-
yard tree. His body v/as then riddled with bullets. The
Negro was accused of attacking a v/hite woman near Mount
Tersa station that afternoon between two and three o'clock.
Roach v/as employed by a Roxboro contractor. The follov/ing

339

statement signed by his employer and published in the
Raleigh Times on July 12, strongly indicates the Negroes
Innocence:

....V-Tien this negro v.-as lynched as innocent a man was
murdered as could have been, had you or I been the
victim of the mob ••• Roach v/as working for me and was
a quiet, hard-v;orking, inoffensive, humble negro. On
Monday he came to me and stated that he was sick and
wanted to go with me to Durham that night to see a
doctor. Instead I arranged for him to go Tuesday night
to Roxboro. He continued his v/ork all day Tuesday
until 5:30 (bear in mind that the crime for which he
was lynched occurred between two and three o'clock
that afternoon), when he asked permission of his fore-
man to stop and go to Mount Tersa station to catch the
train for Roxboro. Permission v/as given him and he
left for the station walking. At 5:45 he passed the
State's bridge crev/ (white men), and two men who were
out searching for the guilty negro saw him and follow-
ed him up the road to Mount Tersa station, where he
sat down and waited for the train, 'These two men sat
dov/n on the railroad near him. ?/hen the train came he
got on and paid the conductor his fare to Roxboro, and
got off the train there. He v/as not arrested until
he go off the train. I am advised by the chief of
police that he asked what they had him for and told
them he had not done anything, but he was not told
utnil he got in jail v/hat they had him. for. He asked

340

to be taken to my office to see my superintendent with
whom he had arranged to carry him to the doctor, but
permission was refused him,,,,

A negro man about Roach's size canie to my camp
on Sunday night, was employed on Monday and v;ent to
work Tuesday morning. About 8:15 A, M. he drove my
team out to the side of the road and had been gone
twenty-five minutes v/hen my foreman missed him. My
foreman took out one of the mules and went to look
for him, saw him going up the road towards Mt, Tersa,
the Negro saw him. and broke and rvm over on the east
side of the railroad, going tov/ards Lynchburg, This
was about 10:30 A, M, Tuesday morning and in
approximately three-quarters of a mile of the scene
of the crime. This man v/as dressed practically the same
as Ed Roach, y/ith cap and overalls, was about the same
size, but a little darker in color,,,,

I make this statement in the interest of truth
and justice, yet with the full knov/ledge of the odiiim
I am bringing down upon my own head in doing so, but
with the hope that this fearful crime may so shock our
people as to make its like again an impossibility, •«

341

Case 10

The Ell Person Lynching

In Chapter VII it was stated that there have been
six lynchings in Shelby County, Tennessee, since 1900, This
ntunber included tv/o Negroes lynched for attempted rape and
one for rape before 1917, During this year, on May 22, Ell
Person was lynched for alleged rape and murder. Three
months later a Negro was lynched near Memphis charged with
larceny. The six lynchings mentioned also included one
in 1927 for alleged attempted attack on a v/hite v/oman. To
this number must be added two other mob victims, thus making
the total for Shelby County at least eight. According to
a report in the New York Times of February 3, 1903 a man
and his wife v/ere burned at Memphis. One Incident in
connection with the lynching is strikingly similar to an
incident that occurred 14 years later - the forcing of a
Negro boy to witness the burning. The follov/ing is quoted
from the Times:

A colored man, Luther Herbert, and his v/lfe were burnt
at the stakes at Memphis, Tennessee, for murdering a
white man. Before the mob separated seven Negroes had
been done to death. The sixteen-year-old son of the
colored couple was forced to attend and witness the burning.
The case of the burning of Ell Person near Memphis
on May 22, 1917 is given belov/ at length. It shov/s how the
members of a community were gradually brought to a state

342

of high emotionality through continued publicity; how,
from such uncertainty concerning the guilt of a Negro
that he was twice turned loose by officers, the mob came
to be so certain of his guilt that they burned him; hov/,
in the face of a public announcement beforehand, the
officers made apparently no attempt to stop the lynching;
hOY/ mob members treated the name of the sheriff as a joke
at the lynching. The case also indicates the part played
by women - that a woman said burn the Negro, and that
many said, "they burned him too quickly." The case as
given is adapted from a report by James //eldon Johnson,
which was taken directly from the Memphis papers. Re-
porters from several different papers "covered" the
affair. At least three of them were eye-witnesses to
the burning and their vivid descriptions are significant,
and, apparently, fairly accurate.

On Monday, April 30, near six o'clock, Antoinette
Rappal, 16 years old, got on her bicycle to go to school.
She lived with her mother on the outskirts of Memphis,
and it v;as her custom to ride her bicycle two and a half
miles down the Macon Road to the house of her uncle,
William Wilfong, each morning and there wait for the
wagonette which carried her to the Treadv/ell School on
Highland Heights, six miles from her home. She never
retiirned.

On Wednesday, May 2, the "Memphis Press" printed

343

a story of the missing girl under the headline, "Y;ar
Lures Girl of 15 to Leave", and containing an account
of Antoinette's oft expressed desire to join the Red
Cross. The girl's mother was reported as believing
her daughter had left home for that purpose.

The Memphis papers of Ihuj-sday, May 3, published
accounts of the finding of Antoinette in the 7;olf River
bottoms. The girl's head had been severed from the body
with an axe. The only clues were: Dents of an ax in
the soft ground, filled with blood; a man's white hand-
kerchief with the corners torn off, and fresh automobile
tracks nearby. Later, the detectives found a white vest
or coat near the scene of the murder. The theory held
by the police was that the crime had been committed by
two men. This theory was held because Antoinette was
strong and athletic, weighing 130 pounds, and because the
position of her body indicated that more than one man
had abused and slain her. Suspicion fell on Negro wood
choppers, a number of whom worked in the vicinity. One
of these was arrested but was released v/hen his v/hite
employer testified that he had been at v/ork all day on
the date of the crime. The papers of Thxirsday morning
also carried an account of an attack on a white v/oman
by two unicnown white men, who got av/ay.

On Thursday night Sheriff Tate arrested a deaf
and dumb Negro named Dewitt Ford, who claimed to have
witnessed the tragedy. Ford was taken to the scene and
there he went through a detailed pantomime of the crime.

344

and accused Dan Armstrong, a Negro timber cutter, of
being tiae criminal. Ford also went through his panto-
mime at police headquarters, taking a photograph of the
girl and a cardboard ax made by the newspaper men and
showing hov/ the head had been chopped off and thrown
to one side, Armstrong was arrested, but P, 0. Stockley,
his white employer, clearly established that he reported
to him for work at six o'clock Monday morning and had
worked all day; so Armstrong v/as released.

The Memphis papers of Saturday, May 5, reported
that the city detective force did not agree v/ith the
sheriff's office on the theory of the crime. The
detectives held that the crime had been committed by a
white man. They suspected a "queer acting" white man
dressed in white duck. The following paragraphs are
from the "Memphis Press" of May 5th:

Detectives and Sheriff Split of Case

Detectives are near the breaking point v/ith
sheriff Tate, on the ^appal murder mystery. Although
no official cognizance has been taken of any impending
break between the sheriff's forces and the detective
department, murmurs of unrest are emanating from the
city sleuths, ,,,

City Detectives Brunner and Hoyle, who have had
long experience v/ith criminals of all sorts, particular-
ly Negroes, admit that the right man may be in Jail now.
But they have theories v/hich have some substantiation
that the murder was committed by a v/hite m.an who, they
believe, was mentally deranged.

The detectives have not been given free rein in
the case. They have oeen detailed to -.vork under Tate's
direction, ,.,

Other old and experienced detectives have express-
ed the same idea about the crime that Brunner and Hoyle
hold.

345

The follov/ing paragraphs regarding the break
between the city detective force and the sheriff *s
office on the theory of the case are from the "Com-
mercial Appeal" of May 5th:

Detectives on Case

Brunner and Hoyle, city detectives, viho were
assigned to assist the sheriff's office in investigat-
ing the Rappal murder mystery, have thus far kept their
discoveries to themselves. It is understood at
detective headquarters that they are working on the
theory that a white man, and not a Negro, may have com-
mitted the crime.

There are some circvunstances that bear out this
theory. The girl's bicycle, when it was found, v/as
leaning against a tree only a hundred feet or so from
the bridge and the public road. The basket in front
contained her school apron, her books, a package of
lunch and a small bouquet of flov/ers. The officers
argue that if the girl had been seized as she was riding
that these articles would have been thrown from the
basket, and the wheel v/ould probably have been dragged
away and thrown out of sight, .,,

A handkerchief v/as found nearby. It did not be-
long to the girl. Yesterday the sheriff found a v/liite
coat, such as barbers or v/aiters wear. It v/as some
distance away and bore no bloodstain. No Negro, it is
argued, would have such a coat. Few Negroes of the
class to which the tv/o suspects who are in custody be-
long ever carry a v/hite handlcerchief ,

The theory held by the detectives was given some
substantiation when it was learned that a "queer acting"
v/hite man dressed in v/hite duck had been seen in Wood-
stock, a neighboring town, tv/elve hours after the com-
mission of the crime. The account of this "strange"
man was given as follows in the "Memphis Press":

Authorities are seeking a white man, clad in v/hite
duck coat and trousers, as the ax fiend v/ho assaulted
and beheaded little Antoinette Rappal, 15-year-old school
girl last Monday morning. They had his trail up to Mon-
day night, 12 hours after the murder. The man they are
hunting v/as seen in '.Voodstock at that time.

The search for a white-clad nan began yesterday
afternoon, v/hen the sheriff's posse and detectives found
a white duck vest near the scene of the murder.

On information telephoned to Chief of Detectives
John M. Couch, this morning, by Station Agent J. H,

346

Blaine, of Woodstock, Sheriff Tate arranged by tele-
phone to have all station agents watch out for the
white-clad man. Sheriff Tate said he thought a trip
to Woodstock was useless. He said the phone served
as well as a trip and was quicker.

The trail at '.Voodstock was cold, he thought,
because the suspect last had been sighted Monday night,
a few hours after the murder,

Blaine 'phoned that his night telegraph operator,
M, I, Druggitt, talked with an apparently crazy man,
shortly after 6 o'clock Monday night. The man was a
stranger, and wore v/hite duck coat and trousers. He
acted queer ly, pacing back and forth in the depot.

Finally, he came to Druggitt 's chair and leaned
over, as the operator v/as taking a message,

"\\liat do you want?" Druggitt asked him,

"Nothing, nothing", was the answer. "I'm going
to Newbern to marry her,"

Druggitt turned his attention to his instrument
for a moment,

The "white man" theory of the detectives gained
such strength that Chief Couch obtained legal permission
to disinter the body of the victim in order to photo-
graph the eyes of the dead girl in hope that the last
object her eyes rested upon was the murderer and that
his image v/ould be revealed. Publicity of the order
for this gruesome operation and the reasons for grant-
ing it were published in the "Memphis Press" of Llonday
morning. May 7th, The following excerpts are from that
account:

The case had resolved itself into a scientific
problem of crime education, A week had passed since the
girl was slain. If the film of death is not too strong
over her eyes, '.Vaggoner thinlcs he may be able to bring
to light the features of the murderer.

One other hope holds out from the disinterment.
The matter beneath the finger nails of the dead girl will
be examined,

Antoinette was a sttirdy, strong girl, and detectives
believe that she made a frantic fight for life, and scratch-
ed her victim with her finger nails.

Chemists easily can determine v/hether this skin

347

is white or black. This will be a big determining
factor in the ultimate verdict the peace officers
send in on the case. One man had been located who
was present v/hen the body v/as found, who declares
that she had tissue resembling white skin under her
finger nails at the time her body was discovered.

Indications, according to city detectives, point
to the fact that Antoinette Rappal left the Macon road
voluntarily, on the morning that she was murdered. ...

The condition of the bicycle would point to the
fact that the girl was not dragged from the embankment
from her wheel, for the bicycle is not scratched, nor
marked as though it had been dragged. Sleuths say it
looks as though it had been placed carefully against
the clump of swamp willows where it v/as found.

Certainly no white girl would permit a Negro to
lure her into such a place, the detectives reason. A
white man, known to her, would excite no such suspicion
in her mind. Detectives vow that criminal assault v/as
not the only motive, ...

They are backed in their white man theory by Dr.
Lee A, Stone, resigned head of the Associated Charities,
and local practicing physician. Dr. Stone claims that
the deed unquestionably is the crime of a white man.
He terms the man a necrophilia - one v/hose object v/ould
first be the death of the victim. He also stated that
in medical history certain abnormal men have been found
who first kill their victims. Such cases are quite
numerous in criminal annals. Dr. Stone says:

"It is practically a certainty that this terrible
crime has been committed by a white man."

On S\inday, May 6, Ell Person and George Know,
two Negro v/oodchoppers, v/ere arrested on suspicion. The
clue leading to Person's arrest is stated in the follow-
ing paragraph clipped from the Memphis "Scimitar" of
Monday afternoon. May 7th:

As ax, bearing suspicious stains, which deputies
found at the home of L. Persons, a Negro living a half
mile from the scene of the murder, was tiirned over to
City Chemist Mantel for examJ.nation by Sheriff Tate,
Monday. He v/ill endeavor to ascertain if the stains
v;ere made by human blood. Persons is locked up in jail.

On Tuesday morning the Memphis papers announced

that Ell Person had confessed to being the slayer of

Antoinette Rappal, Person, with other suspects, had

548

been in tlie sheriff's custody twice before, and twice
had convinced the officers that he knew nothing of the
crime. But the girl's uncle, William Wilfong, was not
satisfied. After Person's second release, Wilfong and
his brother-in-law, Gus Hanky, themselves seized Person
and turned him over again to the sheriff,

Hov/ Wilfong had his suspicion against Person
aroused and how he came to be convinced of his guilt is
thus related in the "Memphis Press":

E. J. Brooks, of Berkeley, Tenn, , is the first
man to accuse Ell T. Persons of being the ax murderer
v/ho chopped off the head of little Antoinette Rappal,
on the morning of April 30, Together with Chief John
Sailors, of Bingharaton, he connected the links in the
chain of evidence against the Negro, and laid his
findings before Sheriff Tate,

This morning Brooks told, in simple but dramatic
language, the story of hov/ he v/as led to accuse Persons,

This Negro was working for m.e last February, and
had been for eight months'^ said Brooks,

One morning, early in February, he v/as busy churn-
ing, and my vrife was in the same room with him. All of
a suddent he quit churning, sprang up, and began staring
wildly at ivirs. Brooks, He was in a quiver all over,

"I had a dream about you last night", he said, and
as he spoke he made like he wanted to lunge at my v/lfe.
She ran av/ay in a terrific fright, and told me how the
Negro had acted.

My first impulse was to put a hole in the fiend,
but rather than cause any trouble, I fired the Negro
and ordered him to stay away from my house, I wish now
I had killed him.

I have seen him off and on in the neighborhood
several tim.es since, v/orking as a wood chopper,

V/hen I first heard the nev/s of Antoinette being
murdered, the thought flashed into my mind that the
murderer v/as the same Negro v/ho had acted so strange
before my wife. I took the matter up with Sheriff Tate.
I told him how this Negro had done, and he ordered the
black man arrested, but soon released him.

Then it was that I took the matter in m.y own
hands and determined to prove that I was right. Sailors,
at Binghamton, Joined m.e, and we spent sleepless nights
since last Thursday, on the trail of that Negro,

He traced him to the bridge near v/here the crime

349

was committed until 6 o'clock Monday morning. Then
v/e lost trace of him until 8:30, v/hen v/e found that he
had applied at the home of J. G. Moffett, near Berkeley,
for v/ork.

This went to prove that v/e were on the trail of
the right man. Then next we went after some clue as
to his clothes*

Sailors hired a Negro to scout around Person's
house, and see what he could pick up.

At midnight, Sunday, while exploring the premises
of the murderer's house Sailors' Negro found a blood-
stained pair of shoes under a stack of cornstalks.

He also discovered a pair of trousers in Person's
house which had been washed. They bore the xmmistakable
signs of blood-stains near the bottom,

Y/e gave the shoes and the trousers to the sheriff,
Monday morning, continued Brooks, and he arrested the
Negro again. This, of course, completed the evidence
needed to mark Person as the guilty Negro, ,.,

The alleged confession of Ell Person v/as obtained

by "third degree" methods. How these methods v/ere used

on Person was thus told in the "Memphis Press";

There's Blood on Your Shoes

The sheriff, with Brunner and Hoyle, past
masters in the art of the third degree, cajoled, beat,
whipped, threatened, pleaded, with the Negro to no
avail.

But finally, at the psychological moment, when the
black man's resistance v/as worn to the breaking point.
Detective Hoyle pointed suddenly to the Negro's shoes,

"There's blood on your shoes nowj" he said, Sharp-
ly, accusingly.

Person faltered. He looked down. True enough,
spots were on his shoes. Before he had time to gather
his scattered wits. Sheriff Tate and Detective Brunner
seized the clue,

"The city chemist can tell if it is himan blood",
said Tate, "Take off those shoes,"

Person complied. Tate and Brunner left the
third degree room, taking the shoes with them, Hoyle
remained with the prisoner.

About an hour later Tate and Brunner returned,
Hoyle had refrained from questioning Person,

"It's human blood", Tate said dramatically, as
he entered the room.

Person's eyes widened. He shuffled lower in his
chair. He gazed down at the floor, llien he half

350

whispered the words that cleared the most atrocious
murder mystery in the history of this country.

"I DID IT; I KILLED HER!" were Person's words.

In the same issue of the same paper there appeared

on the front page, printed in heavy-faced type, the

following paragraph;

No Blood Is on Clothes and ^ix

City Chemist Mantell reported this afternoon that
he had failed to find any blood on the trousers, shoes
or ax of Ell Person, confessed murderer of Antoinette
Rappal,

The alleged confession of Person was annovmced in

the morning papers of Tuesday, May 8. In the "Scimitar"

of Tuesday afternoon. May 8, there appeared the following

paragraphs relative to the results obtained after the

disinterment of Antoinette Rappal 's body.

Under the direction of Chief of Detectives Couch,
Paul N. Waggoner, Bertillon expert of the police depart-
ment, photographed the pupils of the murdered girl's
eyes, in hope of obtaining an image of the m.urderer on
the retina.

An examination of the photograph under high power
lenses reveals the image of an object that appears to be
the upper part of a man's head. The forehead and hair
seem to be plainly visible, but the features are in-
distinct. Police say that the image is a likeness of
Persons.

The grand jury of Shelby County immediately in-
dicted Person on the charge of murder in the first
degree. ...

Prom the moment of the publication of the alleged
confession of Person, there v/ere threats of mob violence,
and the prisoner was spirited away to the state
penetentiary at Nashville, All that day a mob of

351

500 men surged around the jail in Memphis demanding
that the hiding place of the prisoner be divulged.
This mob would not be satisfied with the statement
that Person was not in the jail. Finally, Chief Perry
of the police force, addressed the mob and invited them
to appoint a committee to search the jail, A committee
of three from the mob searched the jail for an hour
then announced to the crowd that Person v/as not there.
The mob then vented its anger in denouncing the sheriff
for sending the prisoner out of their reach.

The mob spirit v/as fanned by "scarehead" articles
on the frontpages of the papers, especially of the
"Press". In the paragraphs quoted below from the "Press"
it is worth while to note the less than delicate hint
that in capital cases a certain amount of corroborative
evidence must be submitted to the jury, even v/hen a
prisoner pleads guilty, indicating that there was still
a slight chance that Person might not be convicted.
Add to this the information that though a change of
venue were granted, the prisoner v.-ould have to be brought
back to Memphis and be present in person in the local
court to ask for the change. Add the still further in-
formation that no militia could be called out.

One Indictment

No indictment for criminal assault, v/as retiirned
against Person for the reason that officials have his
confession to miirder, and are certain that the death

352

penalty will be inflicted.

In capital cases, a certain amount of corrobo-
rative evidence must be submitted to a jury, even v/hen
a prisoner pleads guilty, as Person is expected to do.

In case the defense should ask a change of venue,
so the Negro's trial might be held in another county, it
still will be necessary that Person be brought to the
local courthouse. Under the law, when a change of venue
is asked and granted, the prisoner must be in the court-
room.

No Militia

The state militia is not subject to call, even
though an appeal is made to Governor Rye for aid. The
national guard of Tennessee nov/ is in the service of the
United States government and is not subject to the
governor's orders.

The following published statement of the Attorney-
General is also Y/orthy of attention:

Attorney-General Hunter Wilson today declared
against the third degree method of obtaining a confession,
But he said the Person case is an exceptional one, and
that any method of getting the brutal murderer to con-
fess was justified,

"Ordinarily, I v/ould not let a confession obtained
by the third degree go to a jury", he said, "But this
Rappal murder was so horrible that I think the officers
were justified in the means they employed."

The mob spirit continued to grow, yet no effort

was made to let it be known that the officers v/ould

uphold the law, i»o declaration of even the v/eakest kind

was issued that mob violence would be resisted.

353

On May 15, Sheriff Tate mysterionsly disappear-
ed from Memphis. The papers printed such scareheads
as, "Sheriff Tate Reported Kidnapped," "Tate May Be
Prisoner", etc. It was generally reported that the mob
was holding the sheriff so as to have a free hand to
deal with the prisoner whenever he might be brought
back from Nashville.

On May 18, Sheriff Tate reappeared in Memphis
and made the statement contained in the paragraphs
below, taken from a Memphis daily:

Sheriff Iv'ike G. Tate is back, safe and sound.
He arrived about 1 o'clock this morning. He made his
first public appearance about 11:50, when he stepped
into Mayor Ashcroft's office, at the city hall. There
he cleared the m.ystery of his two day disappearance.

Sheriff Tate's reasons for his absence are two-
fold. He fled from Arlington, Wednesday morning to
avoid trouble with the mob. To use his words:

"I was informed by Arlington people that several
mobs were between Arlington and Memephis, They v/ere
reported, in some instances, to be drinking, I didn't
v/ant to hurt anyone, and I didn't want to get hvirt.
So I went south into Mississippi, I remained there
until last night."

The statement of a sheriff that he did not want
to hurt anyone in a mob organized to defeat the lav/,
and did not want to get hurt himself, aroused no un-
favorable public conmient among the citizens of Shelby
County, The papers especially the "Press", continued
to print f rort page accounts of the probable time of the
prisoner's return to Memphis and to give the details of
the activities of the mob. The "Scimitar" of May 19
carried a long article containing the follov/ing paragraphs:

Not since the days of the Ku-Klux-Klan, v/hen the

354

white-robed horsemen galloped over the same roads
that the mob squads patrolled '.Vednesday night have
such conditions existed in the country. An unknovm
and dominant leader, who gave evidence of a positive
genius for handling a large body of men, issued orders
which were carried to the various squads by couriers
in fleet automobiles.

This is borne out by the fact that every squad
which the deputies encountered were fully aware of v/hat
was being done over the entire countryside. Scores of
automobiles, each loaded with five and six men v/ho
carried shotguns betv/een their knees, rode up and down
the highways throughout the night.

Every time one of these automobiles encountered
one occupied by the officers they searched the latter 's
machines to make sure that it did not contain a manacled
Negro, They openly stated that they were determined
to mete our summary vengeance if the prisoner was found,

"We're going to get that Negro, Ell Persons, yet,"
they vowed, "and make him pay for murdering Antoinette
Rappal. Yoii men from. Memphis don't knov/ hov; v/e feel
about this out here. He should not have been taken out
of Shelby County in the first place, but at any rate we
are going to get him,"

The activities of the mob continued. Each train
coming into Memphis was stopped and searched. Plan for
the lynching v/ere perfected. The place where Person
was to be burned v/as prepared; yet, during this whole
time, the Memphis papers did not contain one v<ord in
behalf of law and order. Not one word of protest was
publicly uttered by a single minister or prominent
citizen. Nor did any official take an adequate step
tOY/ard making provisions for upholding the law.

"Extras" on Monday, May 21, announced that Ell
Person would be brought to Memphis that night, and
thousands of people, going out in automobiles and on
foot gathered at the place that had been prepared for
the incineration.

355

Prisoner Under IVo Guards

Person was being brought back from Nashville under
the guard of two deputies. He v/as taken from the train
at Potts Camp, Mississippi, and placed in an automobile.
The men in the automobile and their escort then started
for the spot that had been prepared on the Macon Road,
just outside of Memphis. A terrific rainstorm delayed
their progress and they did not arrive until early
Tuesday morning, but many people waited through the
night.

How the mob and a crowd who came to look on
waited all Monday afternoon and through the storm at
night until the prisoner v;as brought in Tuesday morning
was graphically told by Ralph Roddy, a reporter on the
"Memphis Press", in a long, special article headed,
"Thirty- six Hours With the Mob, or How the Press Told
It First,"

Roddy v/ent out early Monday afternoon to "cover"
the event for his paper. In his article he relates how
the crov/d waited and continued to grow; hov/ the women
sang ragtime and popular songs, but, as the sharp
lighting flashed across the sky and the storm gathered,
they changed to "Near My God to Thee". He tells how at
9 o'clock Monday night the leaders of the mob received
news by telephone and relayed by a messenger that Person
had been removed from a train at Potts Gamp, and the
men bringing him would arrive about midnight. He tells

356

of the crowd waiting all night through the storm until
Person v/as brought in at 8:30 the next morning. He
tells of the arrival of Person, v/lio from being ill used,
beaten and mutilated in a nameless way, was too weak to
stand on ""-is feet.

Since Roddy was an eye witness, it is well to
quote his exact words on the "last confession" made by
Ell Person:

The car in which the girl's mother was riding was
pushed alongside of the car containing the ^-"egro. He
was assisted to his feet by tv/o men and informed that
within a few minutes he would suffer a horri'ble death.
He was asked if he wished to confess to the crime. In
a low, hesitating voice the Negro admitted that he killed
the Rappal girl.

Under pressure he was asked if anyone else was
connected with the killing of the girl. The Negro hesitated,
but v/ith much leading on the part of the mob leaders,
accused Dewitt Ford, Negro deaf mute, and Dan Armstrong,
Negro woodchopper, of being accomplices in the crime.

The confession of guilt was voluntary on the part
of Person, but the mob really accused Dummy and Armstrong
before the Negro had a chance. V.Tien the mob asked if
Dummy and Armstrong were there, he merely stated "Yes".
He was then asked if Armstrong planned it, and again
stated "Yes".

357

It appeared to me that the Negro v/as lying in
order to kill time and in the hopes that someone else
would accompany him to death. Possibly he thought he
would get a short respite while they v/ere searching for
the other tvi/o negroes. ... On Tuesday morning Ell
Person was b\irned» ... Let me give the account in the
words of Edward T. Leach, a special writer on the
"Memphis Press": ...

The^;- burned the ax fiend to death this morning.

Fifteen thousand of them. - men, women, even little
children, and in their midst the black-clothed figure of
Antoinette lappal's mother - cheered as they poured the
gasoline on him and struck the m.atch.

They fougiit and screamed and crowded to get a
glimpse of him, and the mob closed in and struggled arovmd
the fire as the flames floared high and the smoke rolled
over their heads,

Tv/o of them hacked off his ears as he burned;
another tried to cut off a toe, but they stopped him.

They crowded in and crowded out, so that all might
see the burning body. And they were still surging around
it when the flesh had been burned from the bones and
the withered form of v/hat v/as once a human being lay
crackling in the flames. ...

Call for Other Two

The mob called for the other tv/o negroes and a
triple execution, but hundreds who were tired from an
all-nig}it wait wanted the burning of Person to take
place at once. They had waited till they were weary:
they saw the object of their long vigil almost fulfilled,
and they wanted to burn him at once and get "Dummy" and
Armstrong later.

Finally these persons prevailed, and Person was
taken from the auto and burned.

It was a holiday on the Macon Road this morning.
Hundreds of men and some v/omen, too, had spent the night
at the bridge over which Antoinette Rappal rode on her
bicycle just before her murder. But most of the watchers
had gone home and started to return early this morning.
From every direction they cane, v/ithout breakfast. Men
and women, som.e of them with their children, gathered by
hundreds. ...

358

For a mile and a half up the road the autos v/ere
packed in an endless string by 9 o'clock, 'I'hose on foot
strufjgled among the cars. Mothers carrying children
staggered from exhaustion as the word spread that the
posse bringing Person had almost reached the bridge. An
old man on crutches hobbled and bemoaned the fate that
might keep him from arriving in time.

Makes Confession

Then came word that the Negro wanted to make a
confession, and the crov/d surged av/ay from the tree v;ith
the rope and back to the road. Around an auto on the
west end of the bridge stood dozens of men with rifles
and shotguns.

The crowd surged around and fought for a viev/ of
the victim, !uarshal Sailors of Binghampton pleaded with
the crov/d to be orderly. Sailors, knowing the determina-
tion of the mob, did his best to prevent any disorder
and succeeded in doing so.

Sailors stood up in the car and beside him stood
the Negro, The murderer Y/as calm, but his eyes rolled
white, for the cro?/d screamed when it saw him.

Leaders tried to get silence, and finally they
succeeded,

"Person has a statement to make", shouted Sailors,
But the Negro could not speak, and the marshal spoke for
hira,

"Person says that 'Dvu-imy' and Armstrong were in
it with him" said Sailors, "He says that Armstrong framed
it up, and that 'DvLmmy' was in it, too. He says iirmstrong
hit the girl first and that he (Person) cut her head off.
He says 'Duimny' was in it as much as they were,"

The crciud screamed for 'Dummy' and Armstrong, but
leaders again quieted them, and Sailors continued:

"The nigger knows that these are his last v/ords,
that he cannot escape death. He says that after the crime,
'Dummy' and Armstrong v/ent to y;ork, and he went and chang-
ed his clothes and then went to tovm" ....

"Has the mother of the girl anything to say?"
someone asked.

Statement of the Mother

The crov/d became instantly quiet as the stout
woman in black, her face hidden by a heavy veil, spoke
to a man v/ho stood on the running board of her auto,

"The Mother wants the nigger burned and wants
everyone to see it", the man said. The mother nodded

I I

359

assent, "She doesn't v/ant anyone to fire a gun", the
spokesman added. . . •

Someone suggested time for prayer, and a man in
a dark suit sprang to the log and got silence, "He
didn't give the girl any time to pray and we oughtn't to
give him any time for prayer", the speaker said.

Another man jumped up, "That's Brother Royal, a
preacher", he called out, "I Y/ish we had more like
him" ...,

Where's Tate?

"iffliere's Tate?" someone yelled, and there was
loud laughter and many jesting remarks.

Then the Negro was dragged to the pile of wood
and laid flat against the post which rested on the fallen
tree. He y/as chained to the log so he couldn't move,
and someone called for gasoline,

A woman near me screamed not to use gasoline,
"He'll burn too fast; he'll burn too fast", she cried,
over and over again, and others took up the shout..,.

Someone produced a ten-gallon can of gasoline and
it was poured on the Negro, Then those in the back start-
ed pushing and those in front began yelling, and amid a
scene of tremendous disorder the flames suddenly shot over
the heads of the crov/d and those on the outside knew that
the ax fiend was burning.,,, A ten-year-old Negro boy
was placed on the other end of the log,

"Take a good look, boy", someone told him, "Wa
want you to remember this the longest day you live, 'i.his
is what happens to niggers who molest white women."

Two men darted in and v/ith knives slashed the
Negro's ears from his head. Other men fought the crov/d
back to keep it from follov/ing their example,,,.

The Negro lay in the flames in the center, his
arms crossed on his chest. If he spoke, no one ever
heard him above the shouts of the crov/d. He died quickly,
though 15 minutes later excitable persons still shouted
that he lived. When they saw the charred remains move as
does meat in a hot frying pan.

Burned too Quick

"They burned him too quick; they burned him too
quick," was the complaint on all sides. The universal
sentiment seem.ed to be that too much gasoline had been
used.

When the fire had almost died doYoi and no stretch
of the imagination could have pictixred the clmrred mass
in the midst as the remains of a human being, men and

360

particularly women still struggled to get near for a
glimpse.

Thousands left. They walked and twisted and
scrambled in and out among perhaps 3,000 machines that
were parked so close that drivers could not move them
in some cases for hours.

And all the way to Memphis those who were leaving
passed the crowds which were just coming. These bemoaned
the fact that they were too late, but seized on every
little cloud of smoke they saw as an indication that the
fire was still burning, that some portion of the spectacle
might still be left for them,,,.

After Ell Person, the ax fiend, had been b\irned
to death, many members of the crov/d helped to mutilate
the body. One man, his hands covered with blood, cut out
the heart and the lungs and ox'fered them as souvenirs to
the crowd..,. And finally the head was severed from the
body and placed on the bank leading to the road so all
might see.,,.

The severed head of Ell Person, Negro ax fiend,
who v/as burned at the stake this morning was thrown out
of a speeding auto at Beale Ave, and Rayburn Boulevard,
at 12:30 this afternoon. The foot and leg of the lynched
Negro up to his knee v;as tlirown out at Beale and Third
as the party sped on.

The actions of the autoists in throwing the mangled
parts of the Negro's body caused a sensation which border-
ed on to a riot in the heart of Memphis Negrodom, . . ,

The lynching was over. On the follov/ing day news-
paper editorials indicated the usual reaction. It was
pointed out that all were to blame for the shame that had
come to the city of Memphis, "Let's not be cowardly
enought to put it off onto someone else, claiining that
we were at home attending to business," said the
"Memphis Press", "Public opinion burned Ell Person -
the minister of the gospel, the lawyer, the doctor, the
newspaper editor, the man who talks to others on the
street corner or the street car - he shared in it .,.
unless he protested and there v/ere few protests. The
majority approved. The minority kept silent, and silence
gives consent.

361

"And so, today, when the reaction has come and
we shudder at the story of the man who cut out the heart
of the half-roasted fiend, of the men who severed his head
and sped to tov/n to throv; it into the street, let us stop
and see v/hat part we played in it..."

On the following day. May 24, the "Memphis Press"
reported a resolution made by the Ministers of the City.-

"V/e, clergymen of the city of Memphis, met in solemn
assembly, do hereby resolve that v/e, as clergymen and citizens,
confess our dereliction of duty in not having warned an in-
flamed public opinion against mob violence when it was apparent
to every reader of nev/spapers that preparations had been made for
lynching the brute who had committed an unspeakable crime."

Case 11

A Lynching in Kentucky; Grant Smith

For a number of years Grant Smith had been employed
by a white farmer in Fleming County, Kentucky. In January,
1920 he left suddenly without notifying either his wife or the
farmer for whom he worked. The last time he was seen was when
the farmer and his wife went to Fleming sburg on a shopping trip
and left him working around the house. They left their daughter
at home. '.Vithin a few days it became known that Smith had attacked th<

8. Taken from several newspaper. reports, i-icture, courtesy
of International News Service.

362

girl, and had intimidated her into silence by threats of
death. According to the Negro's confession to the Chief
of Police in Pontiac, Michigan, three months later, the
girl's story was true. He made his way by night to Paris,
took a train to Louisville from which he went to Pontiac.
For over a month he had been working at the Du Pont Camp,
He v/rote a letter back to his wife, at Plemingsburg,
The letter v/as intercepted. The Negro was
arrested and Governor Morrow issued requisition papers
for Ms return to Kentucky, Within a few days officers
from Kentucky reported to the Oakland County jail and the
Negro was turned over to them. Smith agreed to plead
guilty and the officers promised protection. Letters and
code telegrams passed betv/een the officers indicate earnest
intentions of giving the Negro a trial,, but they failed.
The picture on the follov/ing page verifies a part of the
special dispatch to the Lexington Herald from Maysville,
on March 29:

The body of Grant Smith, assailant of Ruby
Anderson, tonight was left deserted, hanging by a
gregigrass rope from telephone pole No, 787, on the
Maysville-Lexington pike, in Fleming County, six and
a half miles from Mayslick, Mason County,

Members of the mob that lynched the negro
disappeared v/ithout being viell enough for recognition
by residents along the road.

The body had not been harmed, A v/atch fob was
hanging from the negro's clothing. His hands still
v/ere in handcuffs and his arms had been bound to his
body by a small wire, A cap still v/as on his head.

The rope was tied in a regular hangm.an's knot,
showing that whoever v/as in charge was familiar with
hanging.

The body hung over the middle of the main road.

It was learned from persons who had passed the
road before and after the lynching that the prisoner
of the mob must have been hanged about 9 o'clock.

t *

363

364

It was asserted by persons who said that they
talked to mob leaders that the hanging took about 15
minutes. The negro is said not to have made any statement.

Nine automobiles were in the procession which
took the negro to the scene of his death, according to
persons v/ho saw the men pass the road, but did not know
at that time who they were or what was their purpose.

All the members of the mob, it was asserted,
were from Fleming County, and it is believed that the
majority of the men -were from the neighborhood that the
assault took place.

Case 12
Four Lynched at Shubuta, ..iississippi

Dr. E. L. Johnston had retired from the practice
of dentistry and moved to his father's plantation. Tv/o
Negro girls and two Negro boys, all between the ages of
16 and 21 years, worked for Johnston. The boys were there
for the purpose of "working out" a mule which their father
had bought from the doctor. It seems that Johnston had
objected to the older couple "going together", and had
threatened to kill Major Clarke. It was generally known in
the neighborhood that there had been trouble betv/een them.

On the morning of December 10, 1918, Dr. Johnston
went to the barn, where, according to press reports, he
was shot from ambush. He v/as taken into the house by
Clarke, and died that night. In viev/ of previous trouble
as Y/ell as the fact that the Negroes were the only ones

9. Adapted from a Report by .V. F. 'ATiite and newspaper accounts

365

found near the scene of the shooting, suspicion was
immediately attached to the four Negroes, The tv/o girls
and the younger Clark "boy were arrested and taken to
Quitman, 12 miles from Shubuta, and Major Clark was taken
to the jail at Meridian, 38 miles away.

On December 20, after Major Clark had confessed,
the four Negroes v/ere brought back to Shubuta for a
preliminary hearing, Nev/s spread over the county that a
lynching would take place at nightfall. Automobiles lined
the streets. At about 6:30 in the evening a mob v/ent to
the jail. The Deputy Sheriff was handcuffed and his keys
taken from him. No one was injured at the time. The
Negroes v/ere placed in an automobile. The tov/n lights as
well as those of the automobiles were turned out. The
place of the lynching was already known, so that the large
crowd set out for the little covered bridge that spanned
the Chickasawha River a short distance from town. Pour
ropes were tied to the bridge, then around the Negroes*
necks. One of the girls "fought like a tiger" and was
knocked down with a monkey v/rench. Then the four were
throv/n from the bridge.

During the next day the colored people of
Shubuta v/ould not "cut them down". The bodies hanged to
the bridge luitil some white men v/ent and broiight them in
to an undertaking parlor. Then the colored people refused
to let the bodies be buried in their grave yard. The
white folks had lynched them; nov^ they could btiry them.
Just outside the white grave yard, in two graves, the

366

four bodies were buried.

People of the tov/n later told a visitor the reason
for v/hich each of the Negroes was lynched; Major Clark,
killing Doctor Johnston; Maggie Howze, instigating the
murder by urging Clarke to conimit the crime; Andrew Clark,
standing in the road to watch and give warning in case
anyone should approach at the time of the mvirder; Alma
Hov;ze, purchasing two cartridges vilth Y/hich the dentist
was killed, 'i'he case brought forth considerable comment
from the press, and has been called the "economic lynching"
- the only lynching on record the cause of v/hich was ad-
mitted to be economic. Although the reasons stated above
are evidently more nearly correct, A dispatch sent out
from Shubuta on the morning following the lynching read
as follows:

The theory is advanced that the lynchers acted be-
cause of the fact that the next term of co\irt was
not due to be convened until next March. It is
hinted that the idea of the county being forced to
care for and feed four self-confessed assassins of
a leading citizen might have aroused the passion of
the mob,

Johnston had recently had trouble with a v.'hite

man of the community, and his parents thought tliis mad

had killed their son. Members of the mob would not heed

the father's suggestion, That the Negroes v/ere guilty was

the general belief, and, although the father of the

mxirdered man plead with the m.ob not to lynch the Negroes

until an investigation could be made, the lynching was

carried out -without questioning them concerning their

guilt. All are said to have denied the murder until the

367

last. It does not seem that the colored citizens refused
to bury the victims for fear of bringing themselves into
trouble; certainly this is indicated by the fact that they
refused to let the y;hite people bury the bodies in their
grave yard. It seems probable, then, that the Negroes
of Shubuta considered the mob victims as being guilty of
the murder.

The NAACP sent to Governor Bilbo a telegram
similar to the one discussed in Case No, 2 above, A
newspaper reporter called some days later and asked the
Governor if he intended to reply, and if he had any
conmient to nake. The Governor said: "No, not tonight,
I might give you a little advance information to the
effect that I will tell them, in effect, to go to H,..".
The statement was published widely and received editorial
comment from all sections of the covuitry. In the North
there was "atonlshment" that a governor would treat so
lightly an inquiry concerning a ouar duple lynching.
Several southern editors v;ere m.ore nearly in agreement
v/ith the Governor, An editorial appeared in the Houston
Post under the caption, "The Polly of Butting In", It was
pointed out that although "the Governor greatly deplores,,,,
the crime alluded to" and "possibly feels indignant that
the lav/s of Ivlississippi v/ere so ruthlessly trampled under
foot , yet he "does not relish having any organization
in New York making any demands v/hatsoever upon him, nor
will anybody else in Mississippi ,.•• No Governor v;ho is

368

worth his salt would yield to such pressure In any sort
of case,"

Sufficient evidence for indictments and arrests
v/as not found*.

The subsequent lynching history of the county is
as follows: On July 5, 1920 James Spencer, a Negro postal
clerk, v/as hanged by a mob at Enterprise, He had serious-
ly stabbed a v/hite postal clerk on a Nev/ Orleans and North-
eastern mail car three days before. Officers v/ere on the
way to Quitman v/here the Negro was scheduled to be tried
in court. The last lynching in Clarke County, Mississippi
was that of Will Echols at Quitman, on September 13, 1920,
The Negro had recently been convicted of the murder of
Henry Davis, an aged watchman at a Ixmber plant. He was
sentenced to be hanged on September 10 but his execution
was stayed at the last moment through an appeal to the
Mississippi Supreme Coiirt, On the night of the thirteenth
he v/as taken from the jail by a small party of men v/ho
carried him two miles into the country and shot him to
death. VuTio these men were is not known. There were no
indictments following either of the tv/o 1920 lynchings.

369

Case 13

A Deleware Lynching

There is only one lynching record as having
occurred in Deleware, In 1903 a Negro, George V/hite,
murdered a white woman. Miss Helen Bishop, The Negro
was in jail, awaiting the proper time for trial. It has
been said that a Christian Minister "caused" the lynching.
The evidence for the statement is given below.

Between the date of the above murder and the
lynching the Rev, Robert A. Ellwood, Pastor of the
Mount Olivet Presbyterian Church, preached a Svmday
morning sermon which is thus reported: "He advocated
moderation, and then drew an agonizing pictiire of the
mvirder of Ivliss Bishop, He counselled patience, and
then denoiHiced the Supreme Court, declaring that by
refusing to depart from the regular procedure to try
^Vhite, it was setting an example in patience for the
people. He drew a forecast of precisely v/hat happened,
and sternly laid the blame at the feet of the Judges
of the Court, and added a final appeal to the passions
of his audience by dramatically waiving over his head
blood-stained leaves from the thicket in v^hich Helen
Bishop had been killed, and which had been especially
obtained for the purpose by one of his elders. The
people went from the chiirch livid v/ith passion, and

370

early this morning the deed was done.'

Evans also quotes from the report of the case
the follov/ing:

"After the man was dead by burning, throngs of

v/omen siirrounded the smouldering embers. Some hurled

on more wood to keep the fire going so as to reduce to

dust the reianants of the body of the Negro,"

Case 14

A Lynching in Louisiana

According to the records nine Negroes were
lynched in Louisiana in 1918, Three of the total were
accused of attacking white women; three, stealing hogs;
one, living with a white v/om.an; one, shooting a white
man and one, murdering a wliite man. The following case,
which is not in the list, shows that there was one more
lynching in the state during that year. The case as given
below is adapted from a report sent to use by a former
teacher in Caldwell Parish, - a graduate of a southern
State University, The case is interesting in that is
shows something of the type of Negro involved, and indi-
cates the attitude of some of the v/liites of the Comirainity
toward Negroes,

IQ. Quoted by Evans, op. cit. pp. 172-173,

371

At a Negro country church in June, 1918, near
Columbia, Louisiana, in Caldwell Parish, several v/hite
men went out to the church to make a speech on "War
Savings Stamps" after a lodge meeting at the church v/as
over. Some drunken Negroes canie up and vi/ere trying to
"break up" the lodge. Both the whites and the blacks
tried to quell the bad or drvmken Negroes without very
much success. The driinken Negroes shot several times,,.
The other Negroes and the whites were ujiarmed, A
"stray" bullet from, one of the drunken Negroes' pistol
hit a yoiing white man named Warner and killed him.
Seven Negroes v/ere arrested and tried for the murder
and distrubance, some sentenced to a fev/ years, some
to more. None were electrocuted so far as I can dis-
cover. The sheriff of Caldwell Parish, v/here the
tragedy occurred, was taking the prisoners to the
State Penitentiary down the Ouachita River, when he
v/as "hailed' by some m.en one night and told that they
wanted Sampson, the one supposed to have fired the shot

that killed young Warner, The sheriff, , yielded

and the Smith Negro was hanged near the banks of the
river in a swamp. Nothing was ever done about it, I
have been told that it was "made up" with the sheriff
that the mob v/ould stop the boat, but I don't say it
was so, - probably so though. Things like that have
happened,,. The other Negroes were taken on to the
State Penitentiary.,,,

This trouble at the Negro church was not

372

anticipated, I think the drunken Negroes brought it
all on. One of them. Smith, made this remark the
afternoon before: "Som.ebody's goin''to die before
daylight",,. Naturally after his saying this the whites
desired to hang him as he v/as in the shooting fracas.
Smith had been working "around", but most of the time
he worked for an uncle of the hoy killed at the chvirch.
He (Smith) was about 23, unmarried and had not given
any marked amount of trouble before.,.

The attitude of whites tov/ard Negroes in this
Parish is fairly good. The whites and Negroes get
along all right - but when a Negro does a crime that
infringes upon the whites, the whites don't "see it so
v.Tong to hang him," Probably several of the v/hites that
assisted in the hanging could not get along v/ithout
having Negroes to do their work. The whites say, "the
Negro is all right but he must be made to stay in his
place,"

The general attitude is one of protection toward
the black if he is in the right, Vfliites will fight
whites for offenses done to Negroes belonging to them -
those working on their places, etc. However, if a
Negro does v/rong, he isn't looked upon as a white. He
is considered to a great extent to be "something like
a mule" as they often say. I am sorry to say too, that
as a rule the Negro does not get as fair and impartial
trial in court as does the white. For example, if a

373

Negro is catight bootlegging with a white man, the
Negro often gets "jugged" heavier than the white.
I believe the Negro is coming to the front in having
a fair trial in court, but yet there is lots of room
for improvement, , ♦« After a lynching the blacks and
whites seem to get back on a normal footing v/ith each
other. • . •

You must remember, however, that many planta-
tion owners and "bosses" who work Negroes don't mind
beating and whipping them in the least. They say
"a Negro has to be whipped like a mule to get along
with him,"...

Case 15

Triple Burning at Kirvln, Texas

The source material for this case includes the
written reports of three men v/ho witnessed the burning,
and a fourth report by an investigator who went to Kirvin
a v/eek afterv/ards. The investigator, it may be pointed
out, is descended from a Civil War veteran, v/as born and
reared within 30 miles of Kirvin, and v/as educated there
and in the University of Texas. "I think if I v/ere
prejudiced", he v/rites, "my prejudice, from my birth,
education and training, would rather lay against the
facts" as presented. "I believe ... the things I say to
you are based upon a candid examination of the evidence

374

that I was able to secure by speaking to more than a
hundred people, talking vifith the sheriff and many of
those who proudly proclaimed that they had taken part
in the biirning,"

He studied the case with a view to arriving
at causes and effects,, while the newspaper men were more
concerned with a description of the burning. The case
as given below is adapted from his report with a few
descriptive interpolations from the other sources.

"OhI Lord I'm comin' home. Goodbye, Mr, Otis,
0 Lord, I'm con" - Fire leaped into his face and
his sentence was never finished,

"Mr. Otis" King was City Marshall of Kirvin,
Texas, and Snap Gurry had been a laborer on his farm.
At this moment Curry was seated on the last plow he
would ever ride,

Kirvin, Texas, in 1922, was a town of about a
dozen stores scattered rather aimlessly along a branch-
line railway out of Corsicana, The population is 288
many of v^hom turn out twice each day, once to see the
south-bound train from Corsicana, and once to see the north-
bound train from Hempstead and Navasota, Before the date
in question these citizens of Freestone County had never
witnessed a lynching at home, although it is probable that
some of them had been in Waco on such occasions. "Those
of you from the South know v/hat type of tov/n it is. It
is just at the beginning of the backwoods section of

375

Texas." Few of the people, apparently, have been out
of the county; some spoke of having once visited the
Dallas Fair.

The Kirvin Comnuiiity consists for the nost part
of white landlords and Negro tenants. There are some of
the "variety which are commonly called the poor whites
who undertake to work for themselves on their own farms,
but most of the work is done under the tenant system, -
the share-crop system by which the owner furnishes the
tools, the house, the land and the eqaipment. The tenant
does the work and they share up half and half on the pro-
duce; but it is weighed on the ovmer's scales; tiie cotton
is classified by the owner, and often the tenant ends up
by being in debt to the owner at the end of the year.

I left 7/aco a week after the burning of the three men,

says the Investigator. Pour days after, the fourth was

lynched, and the fifth disappeared a day or tv/o after

I got there^... I came in the guise of a newspaper

man ... because I was going to ask questions, and

you had to have a very good reason for asking questions

there. I first went to Mr. John King, grandfather

of the girl who v/as murdered. Briefly his story is

tills:

On Friday afternoon about four o'clock Eula should have

been home from school. She rode a pony to school

li. Although it is generally understood at Kirvin that there
was a fifth lynching, the NAACP records, nor those of
Tuskegee, show it.

376

every day, a distance of three miles to the beautiful
brick school house... "No, there Is no school in this
section of the county for niggers., ," As Eula did not
arrive home at the usual time the old man became nervous
and called up his neighbors. She had been seen passing
this house and that house, but no further could they
trace her. She passed a house a bit over a mile away
but did not pass the next one across the big ravine.
The 70 year old grandfather, wealthiest landlord in the
community, called out Ben Gibson, a Negro tenant, and
said: "I want you to go and find my granddaughter."
Gibson soon found the girl's pony tied to a tree, but
he could not find the girl,

I asked, "Jtr. King, did you suspect that some-
thing had happened to your granddaughter?" He said:
"I knew something had happened." I Inquired why, and
he said, "Because I have been afraid of something for
tv/o years," Then he told of a feud that existed between
his family and the neighboring family, the Prowls,
They were also landlords in the community, proud and
high-tempered just as was the King family. Two years
previous the Prov/ls and Mr. King's son had engaged In
an argum.ent in which the former v/as accused of cheating
in a cattle deal. Two of the Prov/ls jumped on King's
sonj he was cut badly with knives, sent to the hospital
and recovered, although maimed for life. But this was
an tmjust penalty for his crime: he had accused them
of SY/lndllng, and it called for a heavier penalty.

377

So the Prov/l boys left the county but said to the
Kings, "We v/111 make you feel it and will make it
hurt you where it hurts most,"

"The minute she did not come I thought then
that those Prowls had done something foul". King said
after relating hov/ his v/hole life was centered about
the girl v/hose parents were dead. He had purchased
her an automobile, a pony, and everything she wished.
His supposition was strengthened v/hen he learned the
follov/ing: Soon after Ben Gibson returned to his
house after finding the girl's pony the y;ife of one
of the Prowl sons came to the Negro and asked him what
business v/as it of his to go dov/n and get that horse -
a question involving knov/ledge -.vhich she was never asked
to explain,

A general alarm was nov/ given; the King sons
and neighbors, excepting the Prowls, started a general
search. That night after dark an uncle of the girl
foirnd her body about 100 yards up the deep ravine from
where she had been stopped on the road. The body v/as
horribly mutilated with 26 deep gashes, and her head
had been stamped into the ground. People were already
coming in from tovms and the country for 40 miles
around, and now crowds v/ent furiously in all directions
in search of the murderers. Although the doctor »s
examination led him. to state definitely that the girl
had not been "criminally assaulted" this was soon forgotten,

378

If a white girl had oeen "assaulted", to the crowd
it meant only one thing- she had been raped, and that
by Negroes,

While bloodhounds were being bro\ight by an
airplane and the crowd was increasing in size and
excitement, old man King, according to his statement,
"v/ent down there and got on a wagon and I talked with
them and pleaded with them to go slow because at that
time I felt those Prowls had done it and I did not want
them to lynch any innocent Negroes, I knew they would
suspect Negroes and I went there and told them to be
sure they got the right man before they did anything,"
One posse went to the Prowl boys' home but found that
they had left the comrminity; there v/ere fresh tracks
leading to their home from the thicket in which Eula
Awsley was found, and they did not care to remain for
an explanation.

Now Snap Curry was busy helping in the search
for the mvirderers. He v/orked for one of the Kings, was
a "good negro" upon whcrn there had fallen no suspicion.
But some of the crowds were busy going all through the
community checking up on every Negro to see v/here he had
been and what he had been doing. Snap Cvirry vms not
in the crowd that happened to make a "check" on his
house, and, whetner guilty or not, the fact that his
v/ife was greatly "at outs" with him proved his undoing.
His not being at home led the crowd to apply what they

379

admitted were "third degree methods" on his v/ife,

after which she said he had come home v;ith some blood

on his clothes the day before - for it was now early

Saturday. She named two other Negroes who might have

been with him on Friday, With this information Sheriff

Mayo started in search of the Negroes, and fotmd Curry

with whom he and some deputies started to the county

jail. On the way to the jail, under "third degree"

methods Curry was forced to say v/ho had been v/ith him

the day before, and he named Mose Jones and Johnnie

Cornish, saying, according to several who heard him,

"they are as guilty as I am,"

That night the Negroes were "taken away from"

the Sheriff and brought back to Kirvin shortly before

daybreak.

The avengers were \inmasked, according to a newspaper
reporter. They worked sv/iftly and methodically^ Snap
Curry was the first to be burned. He displayed almost
superhujnan courage and appeared as cool and collected
as his captors ,., Curry was held upright while members
of the mob mutilated him. He did not flinch or make
outcry. One of the mob then stepped in front of him
and plunged a knife into the negroes abdomen, slashing
clear across,. , A tall, powerfully built man, about
60 years old, v/ho seemed to be in command, asked Curry
if he realized he was about to be burned to death,
"Go ahead and btirn me, I'm not afraid"... Curry v/as then
bound with ropes and chains to the seat of a middle«buster
plow that had been dragged to the center of the square.
Hundreds of v;illing hands heaped cord v/ood and broken
boxes about him. Next his body, still partly clothed,
was drenched with oil ,., The leader (the implication is
that it was old man King who had been told that the Negro
had confessed) of the mob applied the torch, and flames
shot upward, OhJ Lord, I'm coming home. Goodbye Ltr,
Otis .., Oh Lord, .,, and the flames must have seared
his lungs, for the sentence was not finished. Death
came Speedily,

380

"Will we get that too", asked Cornish, and Jones
replied, "No, what have v/e done?" The other Negroes
were surprised v/hen they were asked to take their turn
at the fire. They died without confessing, although
being commanded to do so until the last breath left
them, Mose Jones had been named by Curry *s v/ife as well
as by himself as having been with Curry on the day of the
murder, v/hile Cornish v/as not mentioned by the v/oman.
Thus Mose was called to take his seat on the plow next
after Curry, He was consiimed too quickly to suit the
mob, so they v/orked out a new plan for Cornish, They
tied a big rope, which had been soaked in water, around
his neck and another around his feet. They threw him
into the flame for a moment, then pulled him out; then
they thew him in again and pulled him out, continuing
this alternation until one of the ropes burned "and he
clasped his arms around the plow and refused to be
dragged away, meeting his death as soon as he could."

Aftermath

On the following morning Shed Green - who had
been implicated by Gurry's wife - was found hanging to
a tree. Evidently a small group from the original mob
desired to "finish the job". About a week later another
Negro who, in the meantime, had somehow been implicated
"disappeared". The investigator saw vultures flying over
the trees of the thick, almost impassable bottom where

381

the girl v/as killed. Upon asking what they thoiight
was dead over there some of the Negroes said that very-
likely "that is Tim Barry, killed and left out there
to rot without even a decent funeral,"

The morning after the burning the sheriff found
the Prov/1 boys, arrested them, and asked that they
explain the tracks leading from where the girl v/as
killed. After the tracks were measures the boys re-
luctantly admitted to the sheriff that it so happened
that they actually had been there making bran mash for
the purpose of distilling alcohol. They were released.
To press the case would be to say that a mob made up of
men who elected him had made a mistake! "Did you in-
vestigate if there was any bran mash in that thicket"
the sheriff was asked? He said he did not investigate,
"Do you believe that they are innocent?" "after asking
me v/hat the hell business it was of mine, he said that
enough had been punished for the deed already."

One week after the burning the entire Prov;l
family moved out of the community.

The sheriff said he thought Mose Jones was
innocent. According to all the evidence not more than
three v;ere involved in the murder, so that two innocent
persons, at least, were lynched. The people of the
commvmity had little or no interest in the affair a week
after it occurred. They had no particular interest in
the fact that at least two innocent Negroes had been

. j-ono

382

lynched. Some of them began by saying: "Well, I
don't believe Mose Jones was guilty, but Snap Curry
wanted him to go on the trip v/ith him," Apparently no
one v/as moved by the fact that the Negroes had not
been proved guilty before punishment. None seemed to
think of it as having been a dishonor upon the community.
The investigator went again tliree weeks after
the bvirning, "I asked Sheriff Mayo v/ould there be a grand
jury investigation and he seemed utterly astonished that
I should ask such a question. He looked at me and said,
»By God, I don't believe you are from Waco,"'

During the three weeks, old man King had "aged
ten years. His heart, his spirit v/as all broken," On the
v/all of his home v/as an enlargement of Eula's picture "at
which he worshipped as though it were a shrine," 'ihe old
man said: "I believe still, although those rascals, some
of them (lynched), may have been Implicated, they could
not have thought of such a deed, I still believe those
Prowl boys are the ones who did it,"

Talking to several who v/ere in the mob, the
investigator was impressed v/ith the fact that they were
proud of the way justice had been upheld v/ith sv/ift
hands, and they had had an active part. He asked one
man if Mose Jones v/as related to any of the others?
"Well", he said, "he v/as in pretty close relations to them
on the night of the burningj"

383

"Will five gallons take me back to 7/aco?" he
asked at the filling station across the street from
where the burning occurred. A man answered: "I guess
so, fifty gallons took three niggers to hell the other
night."

384

CHAPTER X

THE MAN AND THE MOB

Allport iias suggested that wliat is needed v/ith
reference to the problem of lyncliing Is not righteous
indignation "but a deeper psychological understanding
of the v/hole matter." The stated purpose of this study
was to picture as accurately as possible the actual
situation with regard to this type of mob violence in
the South, through a study of its origin, nature, and
extent. It seems proper to close the study with an
attempt to follow Allport' s suggestion by bringing to-
gether the information at hand in a manner that would
lend to a fuller understanding -of the psychological factor's
involved in this type of social phenomena.

There is no blanket explanation knovm as to v/hy
men and women commit the crimes for v/hlch they are
lynched. From the viev/point of the psychologist, of

1. F. H. Allport, Social Psyc ology, p. 397^

385

course, there are as many "causes" as separate crimes -
and the criminal act is not different from other conduct.
This is a problem for treatment by the criminologist and
lies outside the scope of the present study. Likewise
in the case of the Individuals who compose mobs, - strictly
speaking, there are as many causes for mob violence as
there are mob members. In a psychological analysis of
any particular mob episode such general mob characteristics
as have been noted in preceding pages must be traced to
and accounted for in individual mob members. This means
theoretically that a complete and accurate psychological
explanation of a mob v/ould require a separate study of
each individual involved.

The extreme difficulty thus raised possibly accounts
for the nature of some of the literature on the subject.
More than this, however, the metaphysical explanations
sometimes offered for mob phenomena are likely called
forth by the peculiar reactions of individuals v/hen in
mobs. Early students of mobs, and some who have discussed
them later, have been much impressed by the great difference
between the reactions of men in mobs and outside of them.
Their discussions of the phenomena act entirely different
from the v/ay they act outside of mobs, therefore, some
different explanation must be found. Thus Le Bon
ascribed to the crowd an entirely distinct type of thought
from that of the Individual. Regardless of who the persons

386

composing a crowd may be, the fact that they have become
a crov/d puts them in possession, or rather under the
dominance, of a "collective mind". This "mind" makes
these individuals feel, thinlr and act quite differently
from what they would feel, think and act were they in
isolation. Le Bon proceeded to an analysis of crowd and
mob action by stating general characteristics; but, having
posited his "collective mind", it seems not to have occurred
to -lim to study the individuals composing these groups.
Likewise Ross discusses - without defining - the "mob

mind", stating general characteristics of crov/d and mob

2
phenomena. McDougall maintains that the proper field

for Social Psychology is the discussion of the phenomena
of crowds and organized groups, basing liis argument upon
the assumption that the treatment of such phenomena in-
volves reference to a unique mental process - the "group
mind". This author differs from Ross, Le Bon and others
in that, after developing with great care ris concept
of the "group mind", he proceeds farther and attempts
to account for, as well as to describe, the observed
phenomena. In this he succeeds without the use of the
"group mind concept. He accounts for group phenomena
with the principles of general psychology.

No definition of psychology is extant which would
justify using the term in connection v/ith any sort of

2. E. A. Ross, Social Psychology, Chs . 5, 4, 5.

3. William McDougall, The Group Mind, "Introduction".

387

metaphysical explanation of mob phenomena. To say that tliere
is a "collective mind", "mob mind", "group mind", or
"group consciousness" wholly different from Individual
"minds" is to beg the question and to posit an existence
of which those who have done so have offered no evidence.
It is generally agreed among psychologists that conscious-
ness is dependent upon - at least always correlated with -
the functioning of neural structure. Moreover, the
emotions and impulses common to members of a mob cannot
be isolated, even introspectively, from the experiencing
organisms involved. Considering in the same manner the
activity of mobs, it is evident that the actions of all
are nothing more than the sum of the actions of each
taken separately.

But there must be some sort of mob mind that
dominates the group, some general spirit that invades the
v/hole atmostphere, we are told, because the behavior of
mobs is \in thinkable for the men involved were they in
their"right mind^' and in isolation. Possibly not one in
a thousand v/quld burn a Negro, or even punish him without
evidence of his guilt; flog a white man for saying,
"Hurrah for Lincoln"; shoot a girl whose brother lad com-
mitted a petty crime; burn tliree Negroes and hang another
for a crime only thought to have been committed by one
of the number.^ Because mobs have done these tilings

T". CFI Allport, op. clt. pp. 4, 5.
5. Cf. 7/. G. Sumner, Folkways, p. 21.

388

does not prove - logically needs not suggest - a
"collective mind". It merely means that Individuals
react differently In different situations - a matter of
common observation and knowledge. A "mob" is an abstraction,
a term useful only for purposes of general discussion. It
is the man In the mob with which the psychologist is
concerned. To say that a crowd or mob is excited, de-
termined, "hungry for blood", irrational, impulsive,
emotional, can only mean that the individuals that compose
the group are so affected. The explanation of the be-
havior of a mob, therefore. Involves a consideration of
the reactions of the individual under the particular
situation.

Tilhile the implication is theoretically sound, it
is practically impossible to make the study thus re-
quired for any individual, much less for a wnole group.
Any attempt at a psychological analysis based upon this
type of study is outside the scope of the present study.
It seems v/ise, however, to summarize available infor-
mation follov/ing such an outline as would be used in a
strictly psychological analysis. The following outline
has been used in the field of social psychology. ^ (i)
A study of what may be called the constitution of the
individual; (2) conditions of the formation of the con-
course out of which the mob developed; (3) change from

b. Englisn Bagby, Lectures on Social Psycholon-y — 55 — ^^ff
Also class notei"li ' " -^^jL' -f-f

389

a concourse to a croY/d., then to a mo-o; (4) the precipi-
tating stimulus; (5) the resulting mob behavior.

This division, if somewhat arbitrary, needs hardly
to be defended. The first - a study of the constitution
of the individual - is required because different persons
react differently in similar situations. Every psy-
chologist v/ould admit that v/hat the individual is when he
comes into a situation plays its part in determining the
particular reaction made in that situation. The other
divisions are merely different phases throvigh which, in
general, a nvimber of individuals pass in a mob episode.
These divisions may be considered as points about which
the phenomena under consideration may be grouped for pur-
poses of discussion. They are yet sufficiently broad as
not to lend to a priori description and reasoning, for they
require consideration of all the phenomena in question, as
is indicated by the more detailed case studies in the
preceding chapter.

Pacts presented throughout this study indicate
general social factors in the South that lend to mob
action. The historical data reviev/ed, the story of the
origin and past history of mob action is suggestive.
Some of the case- studies offer added information on the
general characteristics of the individuals that compose

7, English Bagby, Lectures on Social Psycliology, pp. 52ff.
Also class notes.

390

the particular lynching mobs. V/hlle it would be invalid
"reasoning in a circle" to base conclusions at t'^iis point
on mob behavior itself, this behavior may be suggestive
in that the reactions of an organism in any situation
are indicative of the general character of the organism -
its neural structure, habits, emotional nature. Thus v/liile
it is recognized that scientific conclusions as to the
psychological explanation of mob action would require
more detailed and individual study than has been found
possible, yet it is believed that, in view of the historical,
statistical and case data presented, valuable indications
concerning the nature of mob action in the South and some
of the various factors involved may come frona a con-
sideration of available data according to the above out-
line.

p In reading case-studies of mob action one is struck
by the similarity between them in many respects. In a
study of southern lynching mobs the variations are
generally slight as regards the conditions of concourse,
the emergence of a crowd, then the mob, and the resulting
mob behavior. A Negro shoots a white man or "assaults" him,
"insults a w'-dte woman", aids a criminal to escape, or is
suspected of burning a cotton gin. if for any reason a
concourse of people is already gathered they immediately
become a crowd by beginning to react to one another in
the general situation - the crlme-and- the- criminal. If
there is not already a concourse, it is a crov/d that soon

391

gathers. One or more leaders emerge. Throiigh continued
inter- stimulation the crowd members begin to react with
exaggerated emotions; the mob emerges; and the lynching
^ results.

Recent Factors Conditioning Emotion

The ease with wriich a mob emerges - leaving for
later consideration the "constitution" of the members -
no doubt depends largely upon the nature of the crime, but
is influenced also by recent factors fixing the emotions.
It is noted over and over that if a lynching occurs in
a community, possibly for an atrocious crime, others may
follow for lesser or no crimes. Mob members may decide
"to get all the Kegroes", to 'V/ipe out the whole bunch of
hog-stealers", to "lynch every nigger that had anything
to do with it". But a previous lynching is not the only
recent factor that functions in conditioning mobs. UV/hile
no doubt it is often a rationalization, mob members
frequently maintain that the courts are uncertain and
inadequate. If they can point to a recent case in v/hich
a criminal v,'?.s released on some technicality, even though
his guilt v/as evident, apparently mob violence is more
likely to occur J In Case One, for e:<anple, it v/as in-
dicated that the negro preacher v/as lynched because he
had been in court a year before and had "come clear".
It seems not improbable that the neighbors, v/ho appear to
have done the lynching, v/ere emotional toward this Kegro

392

partially tecause they nad considered the court decision
as unfair. Such expressions as "he ought to have a visit
from a mob" or "the Ku Klux ought to have handled that case"
are sometimes heard among "average citizens" while discussing
the uncertainties of the courts, it is doubtless true
that the precariousness and inefficiency of the courts
play a minor part in conditioning certain individuals to
join in mohs.

Possibly the greatest recent factor in conditioning
the emotions 'of large numbers, especially in cases of
crimes committed by Negroes, is the nev;spaper. Crime in
general is more highly featured in the American press than
any other current news. ^In the South newspapers have
featured Negro crimes in a way certain to play a part in
exciting numerous individuals. The tv/o most conspicuous
instances in v/hich the newspapers seem to have featured
in bringing atout mob action on a large scale were the
Elaine, Arkansas, and the 7/ashington race riots J In
Araknsas, for example, as was later shown in court proceedings,
certain landlords v/ere holding Negroes in virtual slavery.
They repeatedly refused the tenants a "settlement" and would
not present them with itemized statements of their ac-
counts. A group of Negroes employed a lawyer to handle
their grievances, and held lodge meetings at v/hich these
were discussed.

According to Chief Justice Holmes who handed down
a final decision on cases growing out of the riot, v.-hlte

393

men fired into one of these meetings. Indiscriminate
shooting followed and one of the whites v/as kijled. On
October 4, the "Arkansas Gazette" explained that these white
men had been on their way to arrest a white boot-legger,
and that they "had trouble with their car" and stopped
at the Negro chvirch. It was said that the straase coin-
cidence of a car breaking dov/n immediately in front of
the Negro church at the time a lodge meeting was in
session proved unfortunate; for the Negroes "opened
fire, killing Adkins ("special agent" for the Missouri-
Pacific Railroad) and severely wounding Pratt" (deputy
sheriff). On October 5, a dispatch from Helena stated
that a wide-spread uprising had evidently been planned,
that at Hoop Sptir (where the first shooting occurred)
"there were one hundred armed Negroes in the church at
the scene of the shooting". The Little Rock Gazette
asserted that some of this armed group were Negro women
"carrying automatic revolvers in their stockings" (Oct,
6, 1919).

On the same day tlii s leading paper of the State
carried a conspicuous account of 50,000 rounds of arami-
nition being "found" at a colored school in Pine Bluff,
half v/ay across the State from Elaine. This "finding",
it was asserted, hacs led "authorities here to believe
the contemplated uprising was of more than a local nature,
possibly planned for the entire South". Although a

394

subsequent dispatch, inconspicuously printed, showed
that the ammunition at Pine Bluff was government property
and had no connection with the Elaine affair, the story
had its effect. Tliere was a tenseness in far away sections
of the State, and no doubt in other States, that would
hardly have been without this story.

The Memphis "Commercial Appeal" fou.nd that "Negroes
Had Planned General Slaughter" and the Arkansas "Gazette"
carried the large type headlines: "Vicious Blacks Were
Planning Great Uprising - All Evidence Points to Care-
fully Planned Rebellion". Nev/spapers from other sections
helped to scatter abroad the fullest details of the
"plot" of the Negroes. The New York "Evening Telegram."
of October 6 annoimced: "All VvTiites Marked for Slaughter";
and the "Times" gave details under the headline: "Planned
Massacre of 7/hites To-day". The New York "Tribune"
announced: "Negro Plot to Massacre All Whites Found".
While rioting on the day follov/ing the shooting at .loop
Spur v;as not conditioned by publicity, it seems safe to
conclude that the later outbreaks would not have occvirred
without the publicity. Even if they had, the soldiers
sent in from Little Rock would doubtless not have used
so freely their machine guns. The soldiers were sent to
restore order, but - according to a "saying" in Arkansas -
"mowed dov/n niggers like they were rats".

Southern nev/spapers have at times gone even fxirther
than to spread "news" destined to create a state of

395

emotionalism. They have suggested lynchlngs and announced
that no troops would be available; they have featured
a Governor's statement that he was powerless to prevent
a lynching; they have displayed bold headlines announcing
the exact ho\ir at v/i ich a lynching would occur, and how
many persons were expected to be present; they have fea-
tured under large headlines the details of a lynching
program. The following photostats, while frankly selected
and certainly extreme instances of inflammatory newspaper
publicity, indicate to what extent southern newspapers
have functioned in conditioning individuals to mob violence.
That the newspaper has pretty generally played a vital
part, especially in tiie cases of mob action occurring
from one to several days after the crime, becomes con-
vincing upon a study of the subject)

In addition to general factors and agents making
for high emotionality, there are doubtless less general
conditions and incidents affecting smaller groups, and
still others affecting individuals. In Case Two, for
example, it seems to have been the feeling that Bud
Johnson deserved burning because "he thinl:s he is a
soldier", etc. Throughout the report there are indi-
cations that the mob members were not only burning the
Negro for the alleged crime but also because they "had
it in for" Negro soldiers. It is notable in Case Eight
that the Negro was brought to Princeton to be lynched.

t'- 'x.i^^ii-T'i/ij':^

^mKmm.

MEMfHIS. TtHH

rftlCE THRCr CENTi

WEDNESDAY

T he M e mphis Pre s s fina c

TROOPS ORDERED TO NODENA. ARK.

GOV. M'RAE MAKES FRIHIIISS

lfS"iI!LSSL*?r NEGRO TAKEN FROM TRAIN AND
"fMHHK HURRIED TOWARD CRME SCENE;

tance telephone this afternoon that he has not ordered a^mglf^ |iriinrnO AT I HOAI UnTri

r/a.s"Jb„'chSsreV.„st" ''"■■ '" "' "' MOB MEMBtRS AT LOCAL HOTEL

. who is to be lynched at Nodena, Ark., tonight, other al-

WBmammM

mWmMMMMmiMmm

tiMflgjimii

he on his job7 It's the wo:.t o^^trage in the world to put a dined at Hotel Jeabody today

upon me fo

liltllinHiTII^SiU!!

Arkansas' and taken him direct to the penitenitairy at
Little Rock. , „ . ■

"I had heard that the negro was taken off a tram
at Sardis, Miss., this morning, but I didn't know they were
bringing him back to Arkansas."

— o

The Memphis Press

D.i!, erc^l S«dv y>J MEMPHIS PRESS CO. l»d.-

k 1» p..<l.nl PotilkOr, Fio..ciJlT. C<>»m«ci.llr. Enltr.d

.1 M»pkii P-lWfic. u S.c.»d.Cb.. M«a IUtl«r.

Which U the Better Way?

r VN a railroad traJn ils a negro in the custody ot officers of the law.

The alleged members of the mob were met at the

them were gathered in the hotel lobby, laughing and talk-

The five men who have Lowry passed Millington at
noon ep route to Richardson's Landing, Tenn., where they
ai-e,:lo.;x:ros3 the river on » ferry. Nodena, Ark., is just
opffosite.

Reports rcceivpd here indicate that Lowry and three
or four other hegroeg — perhaps even more — are to be
lyViched at Nodena tonight. "The other negroes arc al-
feged to have aided Lowry to escape to El Paso, Tex., after
he had killed two w'hite persons and wounded two others
at Nodena on Dec. 25.

No Street Parade. J. J. Greer, from whom tho pris

The mob leader announced at oner was taken by the mob at th(

Sardis. Mlsa.. this morning that train stopped at Sardis, minglec

Lowry would be paraded thru with the crowd in the hotel lobby

Memphis streets and taken across They were met here by Shcrif

the Harahaii bridge here. Blackwood of Mississippi county

Police immediately guarded all Arkansas, who wa4 to have acconi

ronds entering the city to prevent panipd ihem to Osceola with ih<

them from bringing the prisoner prisoner tonight,

here. The mob must have learned None of tho men in the Peabod;

win pav the proper penalty for his crime.

Armed men board the'train. From the officers of the law they
take the negro. They put him into an automobile and carry hira thru
pans of three states to the scene of the crime. With bravado it is
announced that he will be lynched at a certain hour.

The crime ot which th? negro is accused is atrociou*. .Such a
slayer should himself meet death as quickly as legal process will allow.
There is no doubt but that he will quickly come (o legal death.

Another nogro committed a murder that is oven more atrocious.
If possible, than the first. He is arrested at his home. There arc
many people around, somr of them close friends of the victim's sor-
rowing family. There is every opportunity for Jiidge Lynch to claim
this second negro. But the second negro is today all^e in a peniten-
tiary cell, awaiting tho seemingly certain Verdict of electrocution.

Which is the better way?

they neared Memphis Lowry was
turned over to five men in a closed
car, who skirted tho city.

The other men. it Is alleged,
drove their nutos into Memphis
and went directly to the Peabody
hotel.

Deputy Sheriffs B. H. Dixon and

mumbera of the mob that boarde<
the train, but several of then
evaded the question in a laughlni
manner.

Some of the, men were miidd;
and appeared to be travel-staine(
as the result of a long automobll
trip over muddy roads.

sf y

SiOOO WILL BURN NEGRO

Fnnk SimonJ

1 NEW ORLEANS STATES

' nw omkMMm. ia

From the Jncksou, Mis.s., Daily Xeii's. Thursday, June 26, igiQ.

27lh YEAR

JOHN HARTHELD WILL BE
LYNCHED BY ELLISVILLE MOB
AT 5 OUOCK THIS AHERNOON

Governor Bilbo Says He Is Powerless to Prevent It-
Thousands of People Are Flocking Into Ellisville to
Attend the Event— Sheriff and Authorities Are Power-
less to Prevent It.

HATTIESBURG, June 3<J.— Jolin Haitfieltl, the negro
alleRed to have assaulted an Kllisville. yoiinR yoinan. has
been taken to Ellisville ami i. Rua.ded by olViee.. .n ^^^^^^
of Dr. Carter in that eit.>. He is v%ounded in the shoiildei hut
not seriously. The otlicers have aftrtnd to turn h.ui ovei to
the people of the eity at * o'eloek this afternoon ^vhen .t js
expect€Hl he will he burned. The negro is said to haxe niadt
a partial confession. ,,^^^. j,^.^.„ „„.,

r.iW. BII.BO «4YS .
MK l<« FOWKHMCSS.

Wnr"Vi!;^'i!!u»: w.s M,own the l-n .03Po,-.t.d .0 ^^J^^^^:^^^

r liove ilisij.'iirh anJ askfd what
ation, if ;iiiy. ho iiitcndfil to lake
Co prt-VfiU tin- affair, lii; said:

I am jjDWiTltss to pri'Vent It.
'W* hav.- KUiis for ;;tato imlitia.
but no nun. It i.-« impossible to
■«-no iroops to tlio scene for the
obvit. !■< ii-ason llial wu have no
trnoiih

-S*' ral '• ivs Ti-'O. •>■•• '"'oatin"

for 111.- lyn.hlne J>;>« "O*^' ''*'^" '^"''^

for five l>. ni . .

. :....« ^t i;>ii!>:villi> tilizcns has

arr.inKoments for tl..- event, and the
mob IS i.lcdKfd to art in conformity
with tlics.- arranjrfnienlB.

Rev L. O. Gales, pastor of the First
Bapti.-t .liurch of Laurel, left here at
one oelock for -Kllisville to entreat the
mob to use discretion.

THOl S\.\U» *-•'"* '■

NEGRO JERKY
UNDSULLEII

To Be Taken to Scene o(
Crime and Stood Be-
fore Crowd

F.LI.ISVU.Ur. M»»».. Jun« ?(L

— <<iprrl>l>— .\.o four «'rlark m^
proarhw .totin Narirtold. M>»il-
ani of Ot» KIIUvlU* i»hU» i>rt.
U b»lnf r»r»«ull> tu»rd«id In Iho
•rrw «( I>r. Cwnmt of thta .^»y.

Tli» mnvn&f* ixwre haa fO€».
rtMMl and »••»"• »»ry iMr\o«»^

DUsMitlon !»•». b"*™ »"«

to »h»l t«»p»»««fc<n
made af Ihr prU««o»r.

II I. *aJd a>r n*tra wtll fca
takrn I*. Ih« «r»n» W hla rf'i"*;
,^r the ElttaTin. ^n»M'»'«
trark>. where he allarked .Mi"

.Meek, and will be M
c«eryhod> ran »ee •""• , ,.

Some of •IM' »n*r) clUaen*. It
I* aald. want IUrin«*d Ijnrha* ,
while otlwrH wani btan bam«4.

KLLISVIIXK .Mia... Juna M.—

WUI It4»«en.. iwo larmer*.
niemi>er. •» the BO.-e *•«• •hot
HartlleM In the .hauMcr. and af-
feeled hi« r.»p«ure.

Thr»» ihou»»i»tl »lr»nfB»» ar» li
KUIii\lllr io<;a,» I" wiloeaa Iha dia-
•Milwn of John llarlftcld. nefro
I^Zailarl ol Mlaa Maah.

OOloeni ara anabla U oMCral
tba rraad*.

lIATTir.SRl RO. XUaa.. Jatt* ML

of aa F.ll»»ill» >oun*
keen brou(hl l« t.Ml»«-llle ftvm
rolling joil i> ituirded by atnrrea
ill the «fn<e of r>e « arter In I'.iat

U* \% aouiMtcO ifi the ^miMcr

him ov»r 10 1 . .

IhU a/u^nonn «-H«a U U eipert^d

he win bo burned.

HtMrHU, Tiim.
WEDNESDAY

JANUARY ». ini

The Memphis Press

nuci Twiu ctmi

NobrTEwnw

umno PWM uiivici

LYNCHING PARTY ON WAY TO
ARK. TO PASS THRU MEMPHIS

Negro Who Killed Two On
Christinas Day Taken From
Officers At Sardis, Mississippi

Henry Lowry. negro murderer,
was taken from officers on a train
at Sardis, Miss., at 5 a.m. today by
a mol) of he»^'ily armed men who
arc now enroute to Memphis in
'automobiles, according to word re

men epokc. a word, apparently' by
order.

"We've got 50 automobiles spot-
ted out along the road between
here and Memphis, and when we
gel to Memphis wc are going to

The mob, it Is said, is taking st.. before we cross the bridge,"
Lowry back to. Wilson, Ark., near the leader continued,
where he shot and killed two The train's Whistle was heard,
white persons on Dec. 25, and Is to and at a command from thei*
cross the Harahaji^brldge over the leader the men left the hotel and

Mississippi river here. .. followed him to the depot. On the

Parado Do>™ Main St. ""-^platform they formed in single

"We are goUig to parade hj=: til^.-,
thru Main st. when we pass thru Disarm Offi<*rs.

Memphis," the Icarie,- of thc"*nob ^h^ moment the train stopped
boasted at Sardis. ';Then we are|p^^y^j,„ ^^^^. ^ ..evolver and the

... . , J .... „ er boarded the negro coach.

tliut. will bo the end of him. fbUowed closely by the others. Not

-.Sltho the roads are in very bad ^ ^.^^^ ^^^ spoken.
condrtloB..ti.e mob i8.e.xjj.ected here Lowry was handcuffed to Dep-
before noon. As the roads to the , ^ ^ , ^„

Helena ferry are impassable there ^J jjixon stood guard

>s no other route by which they [ Approaching them from behind,
can cross the nver. - ,^ the mob members sef^ied the depu-

• ly after the murders, fled to E ;— "took the handcuff keys from

BPtiV.'<|»'f^K\^1f M4ii*f^liI^<Mti1iHi*'lhl

illJ.iffiJ.til

I yew Orleans, last night with their .""'' V,- lZi^,-k^

rpri.-!Ouer orfHllnois Central Train »?>» """«" ^«»»"»«-
! is'o. 2. Take Deputies Off Train.

then they all drew them at. once.
Some of them had two guns.
None Wear Macks.

"Several other negro passengeri
got up and moved to the other end
of the coach when the mob enter-
ed. And those feUows wore all
men, too — Ihero wasn't a boy in
the crowd. None of them wore
masks."

During his conversation at the
h&tel the mob leader stated to
Marshal Johnson that he had been
appraised by a telegram from New
Orleans that the officers and the
negro were on that train.

Apparently nobody but the mar-
shal and the telegraph operator
knew the mob was (n Sardis.

Deputies Greer and Dixin came
to Memphis on the next train that
left Sardis. They gave Lowry's
overcoat, which the mob left be-
hind, to the marshal as a souve-
nir.

Christmivs Day Crime.

The mob did not return the
deputies' revolvers.

On Christmas Day Lowry shot

and killed O. C. Craig, 72, wealthy

[Planter residing near Wilson. Ark..

ljlislMiJ;lmlflBUBM!IW<iW

Crttlg.
J i"^^-'""«r uu li.mu.s v«....ai. ..a.u DcDuOes Off Train '^^'' "^^ro escaped a mob which

No- 2. lake Deputies on train. scoured the country for a week.

I Tells Plans to Marshal. Just as the train started off and fled to El Paso, where ho was

} Thirty minutes before this train 1 "gain, the mob leader commanded located by means of letters which

was due in Sardis at 4:56 this I ConduJtor Sitton to stop it. He be wrote to relatives in Wilson. He

morning, five or six muddy andl^'ld- „ _, • , was preparing to flee into Mexico.

travel-stained automobilesTolled I Deputies Greer and Dixon were El Pa.so police arrested Lowry and

into the little town. Several menjUien made to leave the train, al- held him until Arkansas officere

alighted from each auto, and went jtho they begged to be allowed to arrived to take him back.

to the Illinois Central depot. uroceed to Memphis.

"We are here to take that negro "No." the mob leader said;

off the train and carry him back "you'll sUy here and wait for the

to Wilson, Ark.." the leader of the jnext train. It will be »long at 6:39

mob said as he approached ITlght o'clock.''

Marshal W. E. Johnson, "ini we Waiting until the officers alight-

hopc^ we wont have to cause any ed and the train pulled out., the

trouble hero." mob placed Lowry in one of the

Behipd him were about 15 grim automobiles and departed. They

and determined-looking men, none were driving northward when last

of whom said a word. seen. ...

Marshal Johns onlnvited them "It was the coolest job I ever

across the street to the Sardis saw." sa-id A. I. Campbell, night

hotel, to wait until the train ar- telegraph operator at the depot,

rived, and built a warm fire for who witnessed the scene thru one

them. of the coach windows.

! "Our names." the mob leader "Not a word was spoken, except

I continued as they sat around the by the leader, and every man seem-

Ifirc, "arc Smith, Brown and ed to kno win advance Just what

! Jones '• he was supposed to do," Campbell

The -leader chatted with the. said. "They didn't draw their pls-

MTiarshal, but none of the other tola until thfe train arrived.' and

400

LOWRY LYNCHERS ANNOUNCE PROGRAM

NEGRO TO PAY MOB'S PENALTY FOR CRIME

lOPAYS NEWS IBOAV

MSOCidit^Mtss'stimct

liaTEMtTIOIu'liEWS SERVICE

r Price Three Cents

Ctje ^t\xiiS

Price Three Cents

iinceinrec \^enis I f^w^^Tli

r r FINAL C I T Y .

ctmvtar Leditioh

MKMi'iii^. ti:nn.

.lAM AHY Ji;. I'lJI

AVENGERS SET
6 O'CLOCK AS
LYNCHING HOUR

Husky Arkansas Men Take Henry Loivry,

Craig Slayer, From Train and

Whisk Him Away.

MILLINGTON, Tenn., Jan. 26.— A party of seven in two
automobiles with Henry Lowry, negro murderer of two mem-
bers of the Craig family on Christmas day, stopped here at
12:30 o'clock Wednesday afternoon on the way from Sardis,
where they took the prisoner from officers, to Richardson's

jandmg, where they will cross an! be joined by a party wait-
ing on the Arkansas side, prepared to lynch Lowry promptly
at 6 o'clock.

The party stopped at Fowler's restaurant for lunch. The
negro was taken into the restaurant and kept under observ»-
tion while the party ate.

The negro said nothing, but showed the strain he was
under. He realized that he was on his way to death. A num-
ber of Millington citizens were attracted to the restaurant, and
a few accompanied the party to the landing. They are not ex-
pected to cross 'the river.

Nothing occurred to mar the serenity of the joumev. The
party ate leisurely and after finishing went to E. A. Harrold's
store, where a quantity of rope was purchased. It was said thar*
the rope would be used in place of chains for the automobiles.
The road is very bad and slippery at the approach to the landing.

The cars apparently were making very good time. About
one hour and a half before they reached Millington it is thought
that the same machines passed through Whitehaven. Very
likely the men drove to Memphis, around the Parkway and out
the Millington road. Citizens at Raleigh said they did not re-
call seeing cars of this description.

Wilson and Nodena arc. across the river from Richardson's
Landing.

NEGRO BURNED AT STAKE

ITODAY'S NEWS TODAY

mecitTtP niEit'sEiiiricE

IITEMtTIOatL IE« lEniCE

Price Three Ccnts^

^. rrice i nree v^nis. j IP T T? S HP

r , pnrct TfwEC ants,

cimitar leditjon

IITEMtTIOatL IE« lEniCE ^^^ %^ V (7 VVW^

VOLUME 41.^ ■ MWII'IUS. TliN.N.. •illXTtSO.Vk .U li;il.N(«».N. .lAM AHV •-•;. 1!

500 WATCH SLAYER ROAST FOR 30 MINUTES

401

A fev/ days before the time in question, at
Princeton, a town ten miles av/ay (from the scene of the
alleged crime), the r\:unor went forth that a Negro had
insulted a white woman. He escaped unp\inlshed as
there was no evidence against Mm... "".Thite woman-
hood" had been Insulted, and feeling ran high. . .

In addition to this conditioning factor came the head-
lines in the Bluefield "Daily Telegraph":

Negro Fiend Attacks Bluefield Girl and Entire City
is Stirred as Never Before. Enraged Citizens Gather
to Wreak Vengeance on Negro Accused of Crime.

In Case 10 it v/as shovm how, through continued
publicity, a whole community became so aroused that doubt
changed to certainty and a Negro was burned before
thousands. The Memphis "Press" especially was doubt-
less responsible in part for the great excitement.
It was hinted that with all the evidence - even the
alleged confession - there v/as yet a possibility that the
Negro would escape pvmishment. The announcement was
made that regardless of a change of venue the victim
would have to be brought to Memphis. That no militia
would be called was also made plain. Long before the
Negro was brought back to I,Iemphis anxious crowds gathered
at the station to meet trains from Nashville.

It was pointed out in Case 13 that after the
minister's sermon, "I'he people went from the church livid
with passion, and early this morning the deed was done".
There had been the crime, then the aggravating delay
in court procedure. On Sunday morning the preacher
"Drew an agonizing picture of the murder of Kiss Bishop...

402

denounced the Supreme Coiirt... drew a forecast of
precisely what happened and sternly laid the blame at the
feet of the judges of the court, and added a final
appeal to the passions of L:is audience by dramatically
waiving over his head blood-stained leaves from the
thicket in which P.elen Bishop had been killed" . If
in some cases of mob violence no recent experiences
conditioning the emotional reaction are necessary, it
seems evident that such experiences as discussed above,
including the reading of exciting publicity, are some-
times at least contributory factors.

The Precipitating Stimulus

The precipitating stimulus to mob action varies
with different cases. In many lynching episodes it is
difficult to determine just v/hen the mob, as distinguished
from the crowd, emerges. The latter is defined as a
group of individuals reacting to one another; the
former signifies a number of individuals responding
with exaggerated emotion to a more limited field of
stimuli. Whatever it may be, then, that brings the
change from general inter-group stimulation and reaction
to a more centered attention and a more specific and
exaggerated emotional response is the precipitating
stimulus, 'ffiille mob action may begin some time before
the lynching is accomplished, technically it is no doubt

403

true that more often the mob emerges immediately be-
fore the lynching.

Often the precipitating stimulus is difficult to
to determine, while in some cases it may be clearly
distinguished with suggestive indications concerning the
constitution, and especially the emotional condition, of
the crov/d members at the time. Prom this viewpoint
the subject would prove interesting were it possible
to study at first-hand numerous mob episodes. In a
majority of availa'.-jle case-studies the precipitating
stimu.lus is not stated. From these cases it may well be
supposed that in many instances it v/ould have been diffi-
cult or impossible to know just what tills stimulus v/as -
whether the actual crime Itself, the words of some highly
excitable person, or the appearance of a calculating
individual bent upon capitalizing the general implicit
emotional state of the crowd.

Under proper conditions the statement, "Get ropes,
get coal oil and gasoline and let's burn tiiis Negro
up... He thinlrs he is a soldier" may precipitate mob
action, or stimulate further and hitherto uncontemplated
violence. In Case Seven it is not improbable that the
big driver of the beer truck from whom the precipitating
stimulus came was less excited than calculating. There
is some evidence that the lynchlnc was partially deliberate
on the part of some - for political purposes, xiowever
this may have been, the setting was perfect at the

404

moment for the truck driver's loud cry from the rear,
"Get the nigger I" Exaggerated explicit emotional be-
havior was the result. In the case of the "Delaware
Lynching" it mifjht almost fce said that it was a mob that
left the church on Sunday morning after the minister had
"drawn an agonizing picture of the murder of Miss Bishop",
recited a "forecast of precisely v/hat happened", and
"added a final appeal to the passions of his audiences
by dramatically waiving over his head blood-stained leaves
from the thicket in which Helen Bishop had been killed".
It seems not improbable that only the conventionalized
restrair.ts on explicit emotional behavior delayed the
lynching until night. Darkness greatly removes restraint.
There is v/isdom in the old saying of Plato that if
man could become invisible at will, no virgin would be
safe, no strong box unrifled.

A clear example of the important role of the
precipitating stimulus in mob action is shovm above in
Case Eight. While it is not stated why the railroad
men took Johnson to the court house, the implications
are that they were bent upon lynching him immediately.
The speech as reported from the Rev. ..amilton could hardly
have been better worded by a trained psychologist. He
used the terms that would strike at the "complexes" or
sentiments of the crov/d - "Sunday school", "alter",
"church", "bright sweet girl", "family", "this sweet girl"
- then ventured to suggest that he v/as trying "to save

405

you men from a terrible mis take. . .and from a crime", -

that of taking the lav/ into their own hands .. . The
crowd began to disperse and the Negro was placed in jail
\inder guard of members of the crov.'d v/hio had been sworn
in as deputies. That the Negro v/ould have had a trial
in court seems certain but for what occiirred just as
the crowd began to disperse. Neta V.liite's father arrived
in an automobile; he came to "identify the man" .
According to his statement he was highly emotional, "crazy
wild". He "saw that the nigger was guilty". "So I said
it T/as he and I said I wanted him lynched". Tlien suddenly
the crov/d changed into a seething mob v/nich perpetrated
the only lynching ever to occur in that part of '.Vest
Virginia.

Thus far, the discussion evidently embraces only
minor factors in an explanation of the conditions por-
trayed in the four preceding chapters. In all countries
of the v/orld there are those 7^0 fail to adjust adequately
to the group standards - tliat is, there are criminals.
In all states of .anerica there are presumably those who
murder, commit rape, insult v/omen, commit assault "v/ith
intent to kill", cornj-2lt theft, burglary and other minor
offenses. But lynching mobs do not function in all
countries, ;'jor in all states of .^unerica; they are largely
and increasingly concentrated in a fev/ states of the
South, and in a relatively fev; counties of these states.

8. Cf. Giddings, F. H., Elements of Sociology, pp. 123ff. ;
Allport, op. cit. pp. 96-97; Hart, The Psyciiology of
Insanity, pp. 62ff.

406

/ Wlxy VO per cent of all whites and more than 90 per cent
of all women lynched in the Nation since 1900 have met
that fate in the South; why 62 per cent of all lynchings
in the Nation, and 78 per cent of all lynchings in the
South have occurred in seven southern states - evidently
these facts are hardly to be accounted for on the basis
of the crimes carmnitted, lack of respect for the courts,
and inflammatory nev/spaper publicity. The latter two
factors would appear to be effects as well as causes,
and not as peculiar to the South as the particular type
of mob violence under consideration. Moreover the
precipitating stimuli to mob action in the South, as
indicated in the discussion of this topic, grov/s out of
and takes effect because of the peculiar constitution
of those individuals who become members of lynching
Ljnobs. It is hardly conceivable, for example, that in a
majority of the states a man would ever think of crying
out in a court room, "Get the nigger", as the latter
TfiSiS being sentenced to hang in less than four hours.
On the other hand it is evident that such a statement
would appear ridiculous in any but a most peculiar
situation.

The factors discussed thus far have been, for the
most part, those noted by students of mobs in general,
irrespective of country or of locality. Upon the
presumption that our outline is inclusive there is, then,
one explanation left for the frequency and nature of

407

southern mob action as it differs in these respects from
mob violence in other sections.

The Constitution of the Mob Members

What is the constitution of the persons involved
in lynching mobs? This is the fundamental question to
be answered, the one on vmich in the very nature of the
present study little definite information has been
gathered, and yet a question on which it seems altogether
possible to throw considerable light. The constitution
of the individual from the psychological viewpoint has
reference to his fundamental nature, - neural structxire,
emotions, habits, attitudes. This involves broadly
heredity and environment; more specifically, in addition
to heredity, all remote experiences conditioning emotional
reaction. Recent experiences for conditioning emotion
may be considered, psychologically, as a part of the
mob episode itself, hence are not properly considered
under this topic.

While many reports of southern mob action state
that "prominent citizens" were present, it has been noted
in late years by practically all students of the subject
that it is the "lov/er elements" who actively participate.
As we have seen, this was not alv/ays the case with re-
spect to American lynching mobs. In later years, how-
ever, expecially since about 1900 when public sentiment

408

against the practice of lynching began to grow, it has
been the general assumption or statement of practically
every writer on the subject of southern mobs that the
mob participants are among the more unstable of the
population. V/hile no definite study had been made to
determine this point scientifically the similarity of the
statements with those of students of mob action in
general, some of them students of other countries, is
striking,
p Le Bon long ago pointed out that the crov/d "is
a servile flock that is incapable of ever doing with-
out a master"; that the leaders of crov/ds are often
the most emotional and unstable of the group. They are
men of action, not thinkers. "They are especially
recruited from the ranl-:s of those morbidly nervous,
excitable, half -deranged persons who are bordering on

madness" .

A southern writer recently pointed out that southern
mobs are largely made up of people from r\iral districts,
and commented on the fact that "The whites of the rural
districts in the South are unfortunately much given to
sensationalism in religion"; thus suggesting v/hat is
called high emotionality. As indicated in previous
chapters of the present study it is true that a vast

"5^ Le bon, Gustav, op. cit., p. 134.

10. See The Texas Review, Vol. IV, p. 217.

409

majority of the lynching mobs are composed of rural or

sraall-tovm people. This v/riter states further that many

mobs are composed largely of young fellows, often of

good families, "who are seeking a sensation". The

Chicago Race Commission quotes the coroner's jury which

conducted inquests into the 38 riot deaths in 1919:

Hoodlioms are the nucleus of a mob - the young, idle,
vicious, and in many instances degenerate and criminal,
impatient of restraint of law, gather together and when
fortified by sufficient numbers start out on a mission
of disorder, lav/-breaking, destruction, and murder.
Mobs, white or colored, grov/ a:out a nucleus of tiiis
character .-^-2

Judge Stephenson of North Carolina closed a
paper on the subject of how mob action might be pre-
vented in the South by suggesting that the Judges refer
specifically to lynching in charging the Grand Jury.
His suggestion was based on the theory that "the crowd
that hangs around the court house never read or hear
other speeches". He stated that "this group is the one
that does the lynching" .^"^ C. M. Bishop maintains that tlie
mob is always made up of the lower elements of the
community but that among the followers are often "other-
wise respectable citizens", v/omen and children. '-Re-
ferring particularly to Southern mobs Martin suggests
the type of personnel as follows:

11. Indem .

12. The Negro in Chicago, p. 17.

13. Lawlessness or Civilization, p. 21.

14. "The Causes, Consequences, and Cure of Mob Violence",
Report of the Southern Sociological Conference,
1916-1918, pp. 195ff.

410

And it must be said that In general the kind of people
whose feeliigs of personal superiority can find no
other social support than the mere fact that they
happen to belong to the white race - and I think it
will be found that the mobs who attack Negroes are
uniformly made of people who belong to this element -
naturally find their self-feeling injured if "a nigger
puts on airs". -^^ J

Without quoting others who stress the point that it is
the more unstable of the community v/ho participate in
lynching mobs, suggestive indications may be gathered
from the case-studies presented.

In Case One the letter quoted from Nev;berry,
Florida, shows the writer to be from what would be
called the lower \xn thinking element of the population.
He not only states that a Negro is unworthy of an
education - a statement which might possibly come from
more eminent southerners - but continues: "All the
mean crimes that are done are committed by some un-
educated Negro. ..it (the Bible) will tell you that he first
originated from an animal. We Southern people don't
care to equal ourselves v/lth animals... The people in
the South don't think any more of killing the black
fellows than you would think of killing a flea. So you
have my opinion of ?^r. Negro and if I was to live 1000
years that v/ould be my opinion and every Southern man...".
The lynching record of the county from which the above
letter came implies that others there must have had some-
what similar feelings tov/ard the Negro.

15. Ivlartin, Sverett Dean, The .-iehavior of Crowds, p. 122.

411

In Case Two there is evidence of instability,
especially on the part of those who mad'^ such remarks
as: "Let's tie him up to a limb." "The v/ay to stop
Negro soldiers is to burn them." ";vhen we get this one
we will get all the Negroes." "This is the way we do
all Negroes who refuse to do what we want done." Al-
though the leaders in one of the lynchings in Brooks
and Lowndes Counties, Georgia (Case Three) v/ere
"professional men" from Quitman, their reputations are
apparently not of the highest type. The punishment
meted out to Mary Turner is s\iggestive of abnormally
developed sadistic tendencies on the part of the
tormentors. In the Vicksburg Case the leader is
quoted as saying finally, "Have you had enough fun, boys?"
"Yes, cut him down," was the reply. In addition to the
numerous indications of this sadistic tendency on the
part of lynchers, the follov/ing quotation from the
Memphis "News -Scimitar" - one among many of similar con-
tent which could be cited - is suggestive;

All waited patiently. Women, v/ith babies, made
themselves comfortable. At last the irons v/ere hot.
A red streak shot out, a poker in a brawny hand was
boring out one of the Negro's eyes. The Negro bore
the ordeal with courage, only low moans escaping him.
Jbiother poker was working like an auger on the other
orbit. Swish. Once, twice, tliree times a red hot
iron dug gaping places in Latidn Scott's back and
sides. "Fetch a hotter one," somebody said. The
execution went on.

Now some one had another poker - jabi^ing its
fiery point into the ribs of the doomed black. Then
rubbish was piled about the agonized body, squirming
beneath its load. More and more wood and rubbish

412

were fed the fire, but at three o'clock Latlon Scott
was not dead. Life finally fled at four o'clock.
V/O'ien scarcely changed countenance as the Negro's
back Y/as ironed with the hot bands. Even the
executioners maintained their poise in the face of
bloody creases left by the irons, - Irons which some
housewife had been using. Three and a half hours
were required to complete the execution.

In a high proportion of the reports of lynchings

something is said of the gathering of souvenirs by mob

members and onlookers. Tliis is probably a significant

index to the nature of these individuals. The following

excerpts are quoted from reports received from several

students in a southern college on the subject on

"Lynching Souvenirs". Names are omitted by request.

Case 1

Reported by II. P. S., an Eyewitness

Near Prosperity, , a mob placed a Negro,

who had shot a white farmer, between two trees and made
ready to lynch him. First, several men fired at him
from a distance with shot-guns. The negro was uninjiired,
however, and merely pulled 1-is cap over his face to shield
it from the shot. Then more than a hundred men formed a
half circle a few yards from the i'^egro. They fired a
volley. The man's body was sjiot almost into a pulp.
Before all of the powder smoke had lifted, a
number of the mob had rushed forv/ard to the body of the

413

victim. There the^' fell upon their knees beside the
torn corpse and struggled with each other for such
souvenirs as bones, fingers, teeth, etc., which they
eagerly picked up or cut off from the body with their
pocket-knives.

Case 2

Reported by J. W. H.
, T/hite man, Vifho lives about 14 miles from

Fairfax, , has in liis possession a dried toe of

the Negro - , who was lynched in County about

1916 or 1917 after having been killed in by a

posse. His dead body was then hanged and riddled with
bullets. For some time L. B.'s father, b. B. , carried
this toe upon '^.is v/atch chain. B. B. is now dead...
(Student has seen the toe which appears to be a valued
possession. )

Case 3

Reported by C. P. P.
A Negro named v/as lynched in

County, . The leader of the mob was Mr

16. The reports were that he was killed while resisting
arrest, hence r.is name does not appear in the list

of those lynched.

414

a lawyer. For some months after the lynching Mr.

carried In his pocket, and proudly exhibited, the little

finger of the Negro. ISr, was himself shot and

killed not long after in a dispute over a case in court.

Case 4

Reported hy H. C. B.

About 1917 a Negro named was pursued by

a mob in County. The Hegro was accused, probably

falsely, of attempted criminal assault. (the

Negro) killed several of the mob and escaped to .

There a sheriff's posse shot him - probably after he had

surrendered. His dead body was then brought to

County, strung up, and riddled with bullets.

His and (sex organs), preserved

in alcohol, were some months afterv/ard exhibited upon the
streets of one of the towns of the County...

Case 5

Reported b:, D. F. H.

In 1925 a white man near , had as a v/atch

charm several teeth of a negro v/ho had been lynched after
"killing several persons". Holes had been bored in the
teeth; they v/ere then strung upon the v/atch chain.

It is not at all certain, r^owever, that every

415

lynching in the South is committed by wliat would be
called "the rabble", 'i'he conclusion that different types
of persons go to make up the lynching mobs of the South
seems warranted. Some of the cases cited indicate that
what we call the average citizens, under proper stimulation,
may make up what proves to be an extremely vicious lynch-
ing mob. If this be true, there must be other factors
by which southern lynching mobs can be accounted for ttian
hereditary instability and abnormally developed morbid
impulses of a sadistic nature. Whether or not these
factors are more common in the South than in other sections
is doubtful, and must remain so until unfo\inded dogmatic
statements are superseded by known facts. It seem.s
altogether possible that the phenomena in question may be
accounted for without these particular facts; that this
may be done on a culture basis. It v/as for this purpose
tliat the historical chapters were included. On the
basis of these chapters let us summarize briefly the
background, the remote factors for conditioning southern
individuals to the type of reactions made in mob
violence.

Accounts of the origin of lynch-law indicate that
the practice is not indigenous to this country. ^Vhile
it seems altogether probable that there is some connection
between this form of mob violence in Ireland and
England and the early practices in America, it is not

416

certain. It seems significant that the earliest form
of "lynching" was ver'j similar to the behavior connoted
by the old Anglo-Saxon verb "linch". Hov/ever this may
be, it appears that the practice sprung up in the early
history of America as a natural result of imperative
conditions. Lynch law had its origin where communities
were lacking in organized government. At the time it
v/as practically the only "law" to v/hich an outraged
citizenry could appeal. It was not a defiance of law
but a substitute for a better law. It was an attempt
to correct defects in an Inchoate society, and was
uncontaminated v/ith race prejudice. For many years the
most frequent victims of mobs were white men, who would
be lynched no less speedily than Negroes or foreigners.

Starting in the colonies, the practice spread
to the border States where outlav/s congregated and courts
were weak. V/hen courts were firmly established in the
colonies lynch-lav/ seems generally to have waned, although
there Hre instances of its degeneration to the regulation
of morals and family relations .-'■'^ In some of the colonies,
and m.ore especially in the nev/er states there v/as a
struggle betv/een the law and the advocates of extra-
legal regulation as the former gradually developed. This
seems to have been determined not only by the local
conditions but by tlie type of settlers. Many of the people

17. Chapter 11^

417

had come to escape l&vi; they were slow to come again

under its domination. They considr^red themselves a law

unto themselves. To use the words of the English traveler:

They surrender with reluctance, and only by halves,
their right of defence against every aggression even
to the lav/s wliich they themselves have constituted.

The attitude was handed down. The conception of

"democracy" held by many Americans, possibly today, is

that "v/e make the laws, therefore we can unmake them".

This statement has been made by members of mobs bent

upon taking criminals from officers for the purpose of

lynching them. "If we say what the judge can do, v/hy

can't we do this thing ourselves when we want to?" is

the attitude sometimes expressed. Cutler points out that

"this is the spirit exhibited, the vague and perhaps

iinconscious attitude tov/ard the lavir, which seems par-

ticularly to pervade the United States". No doubt

such an attlt-ude played its part ±n the early history of
mob violence and is a partial explanation for the general
lav;lessness characteristic of America until today.
(^ In Chapter III we have noted hov/, in early days,

lynch-law was practiced in the South. The practice of
lynching was greatly increased during the anti-slavery
agitation, and it was at this time that the Negroes
began to be involved to an appreciable extent. Tliey
committed more crimes, apparently, and the masters tightened
their hold on them by making "public examples" of
criminals. It is doubtless true, too, that som.e of the

18. Op. clt., p. 269.

418

concentration of punishment on the Kegro at tliis time

19
was in the form of a rage reaction against the abolitionist.

It was at t' is time also that fear of the Negro
arose in the South. Previously he had been docile, scarce-
ly ever an individual criminal, and never known to rise
in an organized group to strike against his master.
The Nat Turner insurrection, especially, left behind
both fear and hatred. Under the spur of anti-slavery
agitation other uprisings were planned and still others
were thought to have been contemplated. Rumors later
found to have no foundation were spread abroad; and
doubtless played a part in creating added fear and hatred
of the Negro. The term - and practice of - "lynch-law"
now came into general use in the South. First Kegro
insurrectionists, criminals, and abolitionists were
lynched in increased numbers; then the practice having .
become habitual spread to strangers - "\inknown to the
inhabitants" - who were "lynched and sent out of town".
Between 1830 and 1860 y/hen there was a marked increase
of crimes by Negroes, the practice of burning was begun
in the South. This was not, of course, the first
punishment by burning. Heretics were btirned during the
Middle Ages. 20 The precedent for burning Negroes seems
to have been set in New .ork. "As early as 1712 New York

T^T^Cf. Letter from ilouston, 'IqX&s, quoted in Chapter III.
20. 3umner, W. G., op. cit., p. 244.

419

hanged and burnt slaves and left some in chains to
starve to death. And in 1741 the city of New York burnt
14 Negroes and hanged twenty-one. "^l For the double crime
of murder and rape two Negroes v/ere burned at the stake in
Alabama as early as 1835. During the decade between
1850 and the Civil War lynch-law was increasingly
practiced in the South. It was during this time that the
term came more and more to signify death.

After the V/ar the terra "lynching" soon came to
connote s\ammary punishment by death. Previously the
Negro's economic value had insured nis life save in
cases of outrageous crimes. Nov/ his economic value
to the white man was gone - he was theoretically "free
and equal". It was during the Reconstruction Period,
therefore, that an actual "race problem" took shape.
Whereas before the two races had lived side by side in
a state of almost perfect accomodation, there now came
a sudden change which brought about marked disorgani-
zation. This would have been a difficult situation under
the best of conditions - but these were not forthcoming.

The "carpet-bagger" came South in large numbers;
Negroes turned from cotton pickers to politicians -
some of them apparently were less corrupt than the
"carpet-Baggers" only in proportion to the difference
in education. Negro soldiers, policemen and Congress-

'>.^ . Duncan. H. 6.. Changing Relationships etc., p. lUl.

420

men were distasteful especially to the "low whites",
some of whom had been against slavery itiOre because they
disliked the masters than because they liked or pitied
the slaves.

The Freedraen's Bureau, i<egro soldiers, and crime
renev/ed and intensified the fear of the Negro v/hich had
been somewhat allayed diiring the Vfer. It may be signi-
ficant that some of the worst lynching states today v/ere
those in which Negro troops were stationed. The influence
of Negro crimes committed during these years, and rore
especially such stories circulated about them as "The
Lone Star of Texas", "?,1ilitary Rule in Alabama" and "Negro
Soldiers and White Girl" as given in Chapter IV cannot
be measured. That both the incidents and the recitals
of them v/ere influential in conditioning southern
people to fear and rage reactions to the Negro seems
certain.

The Ku Klux Klan emerged quite as naturally as
lynching had long before. At first it was an organi-
zation that attempted to fulfill a real need. Inherent
in it, however, were vi^eaknesses that spelled failure and
worse. There were "vile desperadoes Vi^hite and black"
whom it was desirable to regul te for public safety,
but the failure made by the Klan to accomplish this
purpose might v/ell have been foreseen. As shown by the
cases cited in Chapter IV, some of the vilest of criminals

421

soon tecame Klansmen. During the decade following the War
there was an unrivaled wave of lawlessness over the South.
If the Klan was an effect, it was also a cause of law-
lessness. It left as a part of the social heritage for
futvire southern generations the practice of handing
together under cover of hoods and darkness to wreak
vengeance on criminals or others who had come into dis-
favor. For years after its official disbanding news-
paper reports of lynchings would read: "by the Ku Klux."
There was a marked increase in the number of prosecutions

of lynchers.

Respect for law had been weakened for years to
come. "Thus lawlessness, or an attitude of denial and
defiance of law, became an irremovable element in the
antagonism of the races. "22 Race prejudice first became
a vital factor in inter-racial relations. The disposition
to punish criminals, especially Negroes, extra-legally
iiad become a habit to be handed dovm from one generation
to another. Thus Professor Sumner has pointed out that
"respect for law" is not in our mores, while physical
pain in the form of lynching has been employed "to en-
force comformity, and to suppress dissent from current
mores" of society. 23

By the process of conditioning, the natural
response for the small boys shovm in the following

22. Bishop, Charles 11., op. clt. p. i^'^.

23. Sumner, W. C-., Folkv/ays, pp. 115, 221.

422

photograph to make in later years when a Negro comrnits a
crime would be to lynch him. This response not only
carries the sanction of their elders; it is a tense
emotional experience. ^ vVhile by no means all
southern children actually see lynchings there are per-
haps none who fail to read about or hear them discussed.
So long as children read or hear their elders repeat
such expressions as, "He ought to be lynched"; "It was
what he deserved"; "Burning is too good for him"; the
natxiral thing to expect is the "lynching" response when
a corresponding situation arises.^ This perhaps
Accounts largely for the surprising statistics in
Chapter VI; shows why it is in the South that 70 per cent
of all v/hites and more than 90 per cent of all wom.en
lynched since 1900 have met that fate. Given crime, there
is a vicious circle that conditions the "lynching" response
in each generation.

There are evidently other aspects of the remote
experience factor in conditioning southern individuals
to the type of mob action characteristic of that section.
We are now three generations removed from the Civil Vifar.
The lynching statistics treated In this study were made
by the second and third generation after the "nightmare

24. The original of this and a fev/ other photographs
Y/hich we have collected siiggests clearly the high
emotionality of children in viewing lynchings.
Ntimerous case reports state that women and children were
present. Cf. Allport, op. cit., pp. 96-97.

25. Cf. Allport, op. cit., pp. 76, 249.

423

S A.

x^ \

,;■:■■ --i^

r^\.^

424

of Reconstruction". By this time, unless there were other
aggravating factors, the impetus to mob violence gained at
that period would doubtless have waned more than it has.
It is significant that since 1882 the proportion
of Negroes to the total niimber of persons lynched has
increased from 37 to 90 per cent. The well-knovm fact
that no crime for which men are lynched is charactc-lstic
of the Negro alone suggests marked significance for the
racial factor per se. That a i'iegro is much more likely
than a white man to be lynched for Murder, for fighting
a white man, for theft, for throwing stones, for failure
to turn out of the road; for rape, attempted rape,
insulting a v/hite woman, contemplated elopement with a
white woman, or for misceiigenatlon, - this fact is
usually explained by "race prejudice", as ordinarily
used the phrase is a blahlret term signifying an attitude
of antagonism toward the Negro. "Race prejudice" say
Park and Burgess, "may be regarded as a spontaneous, more
or less instinctive, defense reaction, the practical
effect of which is to restrict competition betv/een
races" . ° Bogardus speaks of race prejudice as "an
antagonistic attitude of members of one race toward those
of another", and adds, "It is usually a non-scientific
pre-judgment".^'^ In a discussion of the subject Young

26. Op. cit., p. 62. ~"

27. Fundamentals of Social Psychology, p. 321. Cf.
Lximley, F. E., Means of Social Control, pp. 126-127,

425

stresses what is intimated in the statement by Bogardus -
the non-personal experience basis of race prejudice.
"Prejudice is, in short, a name for a group of mental
patterns which become thoroughly ingrained in the in-
dividual from infancy. "2®

Now race prejudice of a more or less marked degree
is practically universal. 'A'ithout aggravating circum-
stances, however, the race prejudice against the Negro
in the South - v/hich, on the part of some, sanctions
lynching for the most trivial of offenses - would hardly
persist. Without constant experience factors this
"group of mental patterns" would not be "thoroughly"
ingrained in infancy for succeeding generations. Young
emphasizes this aspect of the subject as follows: ^^

It should be clear at once that prejudice is connected
with the in-group attitudes in reference to out-groups.
...It bespeaks, on the one hand, the attitudes of
superiority and class domination. On the other hand,
it reveals fear, jealousy and concern over the rising
competition with the other- or out-group.

^ Broadly speaking it may be said, then, that the

attitude of antagonism is kept alive by the different

types of culture in close juxtaposition. in an article

on race prejudice Professor Dewey says:^^

The qestion is not primarily one of race at all, but
of the adjustment of different types of culture to

28. Young, Kimball, Source liook for Social Psychology,
p. 482.

29. Loc. cit.

30. "Racial Prejudice and F'riction," The Chinese Social
and Political Science Review, March, 1922, pp. 23-24.

, < i

426

one another. These differences of culture include...
differences of speech, manner, religion, moral codes,
each of which is pregnant with causes of misunder-
standing and friction... Ihey include also economic
and industrial differences involving differences in
planes or standards of daily life on the part of the
masses, '^at is called race prejudice is not then the
cause of friction. It is rather a product and sign of
the friction, which is generated by these other deep-
seated causes. Like other social effects, it becomes
in turn a cause of further consequences; expecially it
intensifies and exasperates the other sources of
friction. . .

This attitude of antagonism kept alive in each
generation by economic competition and the differences in
cultiire is thus passed on to the next. It is a part of the
constitution of the individuals who exhibit the lynching
reaction when a Negro commits, or is supposed to have com-
mitted, a crime. This no doubt explains, at least in part,
the extremely high proportion of Negroes lynched in the
, South where 85 per cent of the Negroes live.

The Next Step

If the increasing concentration in the South of
all lynchings, black and white, men and Yvomen, and the
increasing concentration of this form of mob violence
against the Negro race is accounted for on the basis of
the factors discussed in this chapter, there are yet other
facts that call for further study. That there are vast
differences in some of the conditions leading to mob action
in different localities is clearly shov/n in preceding
chapters. 7lhj 78 per cent of all lynchings in the South

■Jh

427

are concentrated In seven states, three of which have
had betv;een 200 and 300 mob victims since 1900; v/hy these
1,348 lynchinjs are fxorther cor.centrated in a few counties
of the major lynching states in v/!:^ich there are wide dif-
ferences in the proportions of Illiteracy, farm tenancy,
and Negro popvilation; why there is a variation from state
to state in lynchings per season and per month; why striking
differences in the reported "causes" of lynchings are noted
from state to state and from county to county, - these
facts indicate differences in local conditions which are
beyond the bounds of the present study to determine.

If we have succeeded in picturing with a fair
degree of accuracy the situation in the South as regards
its characteristic type of mob action; if we have succeeded
in pointing out the general background from which this
type of social phenomena comes and the general factors
involved in its persistence into the third decade of thse
Twentieth Century, our purpose is accomplished and the
next step is clear.

428

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References under this category actually drav/n from
are listed. To list all of the newspaper clippings
and articles cearlng on the subject is impractical.

Files of Birmingham ITews

Files of Boston Evening Post

Piles of Bronson Florida Mews

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articles from the Crisis, various
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Files of New York Evening Post

Files of Key; York Times

Files of Nev/ York V/orld

Files of Hiles' Register

Personal Correspondence

Files of Raleigh Times

Report of Joint Committee on Reconstruction, Vol. Ill

Senate Document

Senate Report on Labor and Capital, Testimony, Vol. IV

Files of The Nation

U. S. Census Reports

-'«^»i«»

'ffi'tfN*'^;'

4^to.

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